Sporadic shooting in DRC
2003-05-10 14:59
Kigali - A stand-off outside the compound of UN peacekeepers (Monuc) in the northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) town of Bunia ended overnight, but sporadic shooting and tension continued on Saturday, a UN official said.
"All is calm at the Monuc compound," spokesperson Patricia Tone said by telephone from inside the complex.
"There is some sporadic shooting on the other side of town," she added.
On Friday evening, armed men among a large crowd of protesting civilians fired shots into the compound, prompting UN troops inside to return warning shots into the air.
The UN headquarters in New York described the situation as a siege and appealed for calm.
No casualties were reported from inside the compound, where many Bunia residents had sought sanctuary from clashes between rival ethnic militias that resumed in Bunia earlier in the week.
"The night was calm," said Tone, adding that she could see about 1 000 civilians carrying their belongings coming from the direction of the airport, which lies several kilometres outside of town.
"We have also just seen about 50 Lendu fighters, really child soldiers, heading in the direction of the airport," she said.
The Lendu are the majority tribe in the Ituri region - of which Bunia is the capital - and have long been engaged in a bitter feud with the minority Hema, a feud that has been greatly exacerbated by the influx of weapons and emergence of numerous politico-military groups since the wider DRC war began in 1998.
More than 50 000 people have been killed and at least half a million displaced by the clashes in the last few years, according to several estimates.
Tone said that Monuc planes were landing at Bunia airport, which would suggest that it was under the control of the UN force.