Shell hits Greek embassy in DRC
2007-03-23 16:22
Athens - Greece's embassy in the Democratic Republic of Congo capital was hit by a shell during clashes between rival political factions, causing damage but no injuries, said the Greek foreign ministry on Friday.
"All personnel is safe, the shell does not appear to have been specifically targeted at our embassy," said a ministry official.
The incident happened on Thursday evening, when the embassy was closed.
The shell smashed windows and damaged the embassy interior, said the official.
The Greek embassy is located in a bloc of offices which also houses the Spanish embassy and Unicef staff, she added.
A second shell hit another part of the building.
'Closely monitoring the situation'
The Greek government is in contact with the United Nations and other European Union states on its future course of action, but the situation seems to be calming, the said ministry official.
"We are closely monitoring the situation, there does not appear to be an immediate need for evacuation," she said.
Fighting erupted on Thursday between government troops and guards for former vice-president and defeated presidential candidate Jean-Pierre Bemba and continued for a second day on Friday.
"The fighting is relentless, someone should send an airplane to get us out of here," a Greek woman identified as a Kinshasa resident told Net state television.
The United Nations peacekeeping force in the DRC has already evacuated more than six hundred people from Kinshasa caught up in fierce fighting on Thursday.
- AFP