UN peacekeepers attack militia

2005-07-05 15:01

Kinshasa - Using special forces troops and attack helicopters, United Nations (UN) peacekeepers have launched an operation to rid the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) of armed militia, a UN spokesperson said on Tuesday.

Operation Falcon Sweep began on Monday in the forest-covered mountains of South Kivu province, a dense region controlled by several militia accused of raping, killing and kidnapping hundreds of residents every month, said UN military spokesperson Thierry Provendier.

"The aim is to secure the civilian population in this area," said Provendier. "If these armed groups refuse to leave, we will use force to chase them out."

Provendier declined to estimate how long it would take peacekeepers to drive out the militia.

Trying to regain control of area

Small units of Guatemalan special forces and DRC troops are meeting with militia commanders, telling them to relinquish control of the area and leave, said Provendier.

Proviender said any militia holdouts would face elite soldiers and attack helicopters. Operation Falcon Sweep will continue until all armed groups are out of the area, Provendier said.

Last month, the UN general in charge of peacekeepers in eastern DRC said the operation had been planned for months, with Pakistani and Guatemalan peacekeepers carefully training and planning how to manoeuvre in the dense forests, where ambushes by militia are expected.

Much of the mountainous region is controlled by Rwandan Hutu rebels from the group Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda, who fled into eastern Congo after the 1994 genocide in neighbouring Rwanda.

UN offered to help repatriation process /b>

Elements of Mayi-Mayi and Rasta militias are also being targeted by peacekeepers. In May, Rasta militiamen killed and mutilated 18 people.

In March, Hutu rebel leader Ignace Murwanashyaka said his 8 000 troops - many of whom admit killing in Rwanda's genocide - were ready to disarm and return to Rwanda after a decade living in the bush.

The UN has volunteered to help lead the repatriation, but the process has been slow. Rebels say they fear being imprisoned or killed upon returning, and Rwandan President Paul Kagame has been reluctant to give guarantees of amnesty.

Rwandan Hutu rebels have been a massive stumbling block in the path of peace in Congo. Rwanda invaded Congo twice, in 1996 and 1998, to drive out the rebels, who they claim were planning another slaughter across the border in Rwanda.

The 1998 invasion sparked a five-year war that killed nearly four million people, mostly from starvation and disease, aid groups say.

- AP