Stray bomb kills refugees

2006-12-06 18:28

Kampala - A shell apparently fired by Congolese troops fighting forces loyal to a dissident general near the Ugandan border landed among a group of about 12 000 refugees in Uganda, killing at least seven, said the military officials on Wednesday.

Another seven people, including four Ugandan civilians, were injured in the incident late on Tuesday as Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) soldiers battled renegade commander Laurent Nkunda's fighters in the eastern DRC, said an official.

Lieutenant Kiconco Tabaro, the army spokesperson for western Uganda, said the situation on both sides of the border around Uganda's southwestern Kisoro district was now calm, but regretted the deadly explosion among the refugees.

"Unfortunately, a stray bomb dropped amidst the refugees on the Ugandan side of the border and killed seven Congolese refugees," he said.

"Seven other people were injured, four of whom were Ugandans."

Tabaro said the wounded were being treated at a local hospital and revised downward an earlier prediction that as many as 20 000 Congolese might flee the fighting that he said had dissipated with the DRC army retaking territory.

Huge group of refugees

"The situation is quiet now and some of the refugees have started walking back after a senior Congolese army officer addressed them and assured them of their security if they returned," he said. "On our side, we remain vigilant."

The huge group of refugees entered Kisoro district late on Tuesday as fighting flared between the army and Nkunda's forces near the eastern DRC towns of Bunagana and Runyoni, about 16km from Uganda.

The UN refugee agency UNHCR said it had sent a fact-finding mission to Kisoro to investigate the influx and determine the needs of those fleeing.

"We have sent a team to Kisoro this morning to verify the number of people fleeing and their conditions," said Robertta Russo, the UNHCR spokesperson in Kampala.

On Tuesday, military and civilian officials in the eastern DRC said Nkunda had captured Runyoni, northeast of the Nord-Kivu region's capital Goma, on the eve of the swearing of President Laurent Kabila in Kinshasa following his electoral victory in October.

- SAPA