UN observer shot dead
2004-05-29 10:29
Kinshasa - Unidentified gunmen shot dead a UN military observer in eastern Congo on Saturday, a UN spokesperson said.
A second UN observer was also missing after the pre-dawn attack at Kalehe, about 40 kilometres from the eastern city of Bukavu, said UN spokesperson Sebastien Lapierre.
"The circumstances are not yet clear. We don't know yet if the other observer is living or if he fled or was abducted during the attack," Lapierre said.
No other details were immediately available.
The killing comes after two days of clashes in Bukavu between government soldiers and troops loyal to a renegade commander from the former Rwandan-backed rebel group, the Congolese Rally for Democracy.
In February, a UN military observer was shot dead in Bunia, a volatile city further north, while investigating reports of fighting between rival tribal factions.
In May 2002, two observers, a Jordanian and a Malawian, were captured, shot dead and mutilated by tribal fighters in a gold-mining town outside the provincial capital, Bunia. In April 2002, a Russian military observer was killed and another injured when they drove over a landmine outside Bunia.
Congo was split into rival fiefdoms during 1998-2002 fighting that drew in the armies of half a dozen African nations and claimed an estimated three million lives, mainly through war-induced hunger and disease.
A 2002 peace deal brokered in South Africa paved the way for a transitional government which took office in July 2003, bringing former rebel leaders to the capital to take up top posts.
About 10 800 UN troops are deployed in Congo, monitoring the peace deal and helping the government regain control of the country. Elections are scheduled for June 2005.
- AP