8 UN Peacekeepers killed in DR Congo

Everybody is reporting about eight Guatemalan UN soldiers that were killed in northeast DRC today.

IRIN: DRC: Armed group kills 8 UN peacekeepers in Garamba park
BBC: Peacekeepers killed in DR Congo
Bloomberg.com: Congo Firefight Kills 8 Guatemalan UN Troops Near Uganda, Sudan
iAfrica.com: Eight UN peacekeepers slain in DRC
AllAfrica.com: DRC: Armed Group Kills 8 UN Peacekeepers in Garamba Park
Mail and Guardian: Eight UN troops die in DRC ambush
CNN: U.N.: 8 peacekeepers killed in Congo
MONUC: Eight MONUC Peacekeepers killed in Garamba Park, five other injured

Interestingly, the Bloomberg.com article fell under Latin American news and pointed out that the Guatemalan contingent of MONUC, the UN Observation Mission in Congo, is comprised of 105 soldiers (though the CNN article cited 80 as the number).


Also, Ugandan military officials have handed over to Congolese authorities 36 armed men, including government soldiers and the police, and 48 family members, who had been found amongst some 7,000 refugees crossing over into Uganda.

Additionally, in another region that has seen violence recently, Mayi Mayi fighters have destroyed a town in fighting that broke out against army soldiers in a new area of Katanga.

"They appear to be a Mayi-Mayi group made up of civilians who have taken up arms against the army to stop them stealing and raping," said Phillip Havet, a Medècines Sans Frontiéres (MSF) logistics expert who was in the area last week.


[crossposted to Adventures of a Retired Armchair Traveler]

Tags: Congo History Afrique Africa News Opinion