Reuters reported a United Nations peacekeeping base was targeted with mortar bombs and gunfire on Friday in the Democratic Republic of Congo's city of Beni as the country continued to fight the worst Ebola epidemic it has ever faced in the same region.
The region of North Kivu where Beni resides has seen a large increase in rebel fighting and the most recent attack follows a clash that killed 12 Congolese soldiers and seven U.N. peacekeepers earlier this week.
That attack was one of the deadliest for troops in Congo's volatile eastern half of the DRC since a deadly rebel attack in early 2018.
Congolese army spokesman Mak Hazukay said the army was monitoring the situation in Beni and had imposed a curfew on part of the city.
North Kivu and Ituri provinces have been hit hard by a number of armed militia and rebel groups fighting for control of the lucrative mineral sites around the Eastern Congo for the past two decades after military ruler Mobutu Sese Seko fell.
The seven UN peacekeepers included one from Tanzania and six from Malawi.
Malawi's armed forced confirmed to the AFP four of its soldiers with MONUSCO were killed on Wednesday, including a sergeant and three privates.
The military “has lost courageous, hardworking and disciplined soldiers who were always ready to serve to ensure that peace prevails,” the Malawi Defence Force said in a statement.
Beni is also in the middle of the region's current fight against Ebola, where many health officials have been stationed in an effort to curb the outbreak, which has now infected over 300 people and killed two-thirds of those who have been infected.
The Congolese military said the casualties occurred earlier this week on Wednesday in a joint operation against the Islamist militia group, the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), and was one of the deadliest weeks for Congolese troops in recent years.
ADF operates along the border in the North Kivu province and has been blamed for recruiting and utilizing child soldiers.
One UN source told Reuters up to 50 Congolese soldiers were wounded in the joint operation.
One Congolese military officer said the town of Kididiwe outside Beni where the attack occurred was used a "springboard" for militia attacks around Beni for the past year.
The health ministry said the growing insecurity was hampering efforts to fight the continued outbreak of Ebola.
The current outbreak is the third worst in the history of the world after the 2014-2016 West Africa outbreak which had 28,000 cases of the deadly virus and in Uganda where there were 425 cases in 2000.
MONUSCO's head Leila Zerrougui raised alarm on Monday over the growing violence in eastern DRC, warning the clashes could overshadow the country's upcoming elections scheduled for December 23.
“I have grown increasingly alarmed over the situation in Beni in recent months, where we continue to face major challenges in implementing our mandate,” she added. “There is a potential for armed group interference in elections in specific areas throughout eastern DRC."
-WN.com, Maureen Foody
Photo:
AP / Al-hadji Kudra Maliro
