DR Congo militiamen free UN peacekeepers

KINSHASA – Militiamen in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) yesterday released two of seven Nepalese United Nations peacekeepers they seized last month, a UN spokesman in the country said.

“Two UN soldiers have been released. We are doing our utmost to obtain the release of the others,” Carmine Camerini, spokesman for the UN peacekeeping force (MONUC), said in the northeastern town of Bunia.They are both “in good health,” he added, and no ransom was paid for their release.Diplomatic sources in Kinshasa said the abductors demanded a US$20 000 ransom for each of the kidnapped soldiers, but MONUC denied having received any such demand.The seven Nepalese soldiers were seized on May 28 during a joint military operation involving MONUC and the DRC army aimed at ousting militiamen from Fataki, about 60 kilometres northeast of Bunia, the main town in Ituri province.Armed militias in the conflict-prone northeastern region have remained active after the end of a war that embroiled the whole of the vast central African country between 1998 and 2003.A source in MONUC said the release of the two soldiers could be interpreted as a sign of good will by the militiamen and could be followed by the release of the remaining five Nepalese peacekeepers.The two freed soldiers may have been kept in a separate location, which would explain a possible release of the soldiers in stages, said the source.UN negotiators dispatched from New York worked with intermediaries in local communities and then made direct contact with the kidnappers in mid-June.The seven were captured after they lost contact with their base following a clash with militiamen loyal to Peter Karim, a former commander of the Nationalist and Integrationist Front (FNI).One Nepalese soldier died in the clash.- Nampa-AFPWe are doing our utmost to obtain the release of the others,” Carmine Camerini, spokesman for the UN peacekeeping force (MONUC), said in the northeastern town of Bunia.They are both “in good health,” he added, and no ransom was paid for their release.Diplomatic sources in Kinshasa said the abductors demanded a US$20 000 ransom for each of the kidnapped soldiers, but MONUC denied having received any such demand.The seven Nepalese soldiers were seized on May 28 during a joint military operation involving MONUC and the DRC army aimed at ousting militiamen from Fataki, about 60 kilometres northeast of Bunia, the main town in Ituri province.Armed militias in the conflict-prone northeastern region have remained active after the end of a war that embroiled the whole of the vast central African country between 1998 and 2003.A source in MONUC said the release of the two soldiers could be interpreted as a sign of good will by the militiamen and could be followed by the release of the remaining five Nepalese peacekeepers.The two freed soldiers may have been kept in a separate location, which would explain a possible release of the soldiers in stages, said the source.UN negotiators dispatched from New York worked with intermediaries in local communities and then made direct contact with the kidnappers in mid-June.The seven were captured after they lost contact with their base following a clash with militiamen loyal to Peter Karim, a former commander of the Nationalist and Integrationist Front (FNI).One Nepalese soldier died in the clash.- Nampa-AFP