Rebels clash in eastern DRC
2006-08-05 19:01
Kinshasa - A gunfight broke out between army factions in a village in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Saturday, said a United Nations official in the region.
Shots were exchanged in Sake, about 60km from the city of Goma near the Rwandan border, said Jacqueline Chenard, spokesperson for the UN mission in Goma.
She said the clash was between military battalions that included former rebels and those who had resisted integration.
Hundreds of former rebels have been given army posts in an effort to disarm fighters in the still-restive east of the country.
Gunshots were heard in Sake before noon and again about two hours later, said Chenard.
Chenard said one officer was injured and evacuated to a military hospital.
She said the UN had deployed patrols to reinforce the zone. The area was calm by Saturday afternoon.
The DRC held its first multiparty presidential election in more than four decades less than a week ago.
The UN force in the DRC, the world's largest at 17 600, was in the country to secure the sprawling country for the ballot.
"Military authorities in the provinces were sent to the place to investigate and to call on the population to return to their homes," said Chenard.
Sporadic violence has continued to break out in the eastern DRC, despite a peace accord signed in 2001.
Official, final results of the elections are not expected for weeks.
A sample of results announced by UN radio suggested that incumbent president Joseph Kabila and vice president Jean-Pierre Bemba had emerged as leading contenders.
- AP