Three dead in clash between army brigades in DRC

KINSHASA – A shootout between two army brigades in the Democratic Republic of Congo left three dead and prompted up to 3 000 people to flee the area in the far east of the country, officials said yesterday.

“There were three dead, all soldiers, and at least 16 wounded, including civilians,” General Eugene Mbuy told AFP by telephone. Mbuy is second in command of the sector covering Nord Kivu Province, where the incident took place on Saturday in the town of Sake, some 25 kilometres (15 miles) from the provincial capital Goma.The three-hour shootout caused between 1 000 and 3 000 people to flee, according to Hans Reichen, a spokesman of the UN peacekeeping force known by its French acronym MONUC.The incident resulted from a misunderstanding between the two brigades, both made up of former rebels in the country’s last major war, from 1998 to 2003.One brigade has been fully integrated into the national army under a 2002 accord, while the other, the 83rd brigade, has not completed reintegration training.Each brigade reportedly believed that some of its members had been forcibly disarmed by the other brigade.Some members of the 83rd brigade are thought to remain loyal to renegade General Laurent Nkunda, who is subject to an international arrest warrant for war crimes committed in 2004 in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).He is thought to have some 2 000 well-equipped men less than 100 kilometres from Sake.The two brigades have been ordered to leave the area, where another fully integrated battalion has already been deployed, according to General Mbuy.The incident does not appear to have been directly related to presidential and legislative elections held in the country late last month, sources said.The results of the country’s first multi-party elections since the eve of independence in 1960 are expected by August 20.Nampa-AFPMbuy is second in command of the sector covering Nord Kivu Province, where the incident took place on Saturday in the town of Sake, some 25 kilometres (15 miles) from the provincial capital Goma.The three-hour shootout caused between 1 000 and 3 000 people to flee, according to Hans Reichen, a spokesman of the UN peacekeeping force known by its French acronym MONUC.The incident resulted from a misunderstanding between the two brigades, both made up of former rebels in the country’s last major war, from 1998 to 2003.One brigade has been fully integrated into the national army under a 2002 accord, while the other, the 83rd brigade, has not completed reintegration training.Each brigade reportedly believed that some of its members had been forcibly disarmed by the other brigade.Some members of the 83rd brigade are thought to remain loyal to renegade General Laurent Nkunda, who is subject to an international arrest warrant for war crimes committed in 2004 in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).He is thought to have some 2 000 well-equipped men less than 100 kilometres from Sake.The two brigades have been ordered to leave the area, where another fully integrated battalion has already been deployed, according to General Mbuy.The incident does not appear to have been directly related to presidential and legislative elections held in the country late last month, sources said.The results of the country’s first multi-party elections since the eve of independence in 1960 are expected by August 20.Nampa-AFP