UN peacekeepers freed in DRC
2006-06-27 08:48
Kinshasa - Militiamen in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday released two of seven Nepalese members of the United Nations peacekeeping force they seized last month, said an official.
Carmine Camerini, spokesperson for the UN peacekeeping force (Monuc), said: "Two UN soldiers have been released. We are doing our utmost to obtain the release of the others.
"I can't give any more details for the moment."
The seven Nepalese soldiers were seized on May 28 during a joint military operation - involving Monuc and the DRC army - aimed at ousting militiamen from Fataki, about 60km northeast of Bunia, the main town in Ituri province.
Armed militias in the conflict-prone northeastern region had remained active after the end of a war that embroiled the whole of the vast central African country between 1998 and 2003.