UN troops kill LRA fighters
Jan 23, 2006
GOMA, Monday – The UN peacekeeping force in Congo, MONUC, has clashed with the LRA rebels in the Congo’s Garamba National Park, killing at least 15 of them.
GOMA, Monday – The UN peacekeeping force in Congo, MONUC, has clashed with the LRA rebels in the Congo’s Garamba National Park, killing at least 15 of them.
Eight Guatemalan special force soldiers and five more were injured on Monday during an operation against the Ugandan rebels, the UN said.
MONUC said for the past 10 days, 80 Guatemalan soldiers had been carrying out reconnaissance operations in the Garamba park, on the border with Sudan, looking for members of the rebel LRA.
“The unit which was conducting an operation in this area established contact with rebel elements at 6:00am. There followed an exchange of fire lasting four hours, requiring the intervention of armed helicopters,†the UN statement said.
“There are at least 15 of them dead but we are still counting... The group, which we estimate to have been 50 or 60, has been mostly killed or wounded,†said the UN military spokesman for the eastern division, Major Hans-Jakob Reichen.
Nine Bangladeshi peacekeepers were killed in a rebel ambush in the nearby Ituri district in february 2005. The losses were among the worst suffered by the UN force in Congo.
The injured Guatemalan peacekeepers were taken to hospital in Bunia town, the UN statement said.
Eight Guatemalan special force soldiers and five more were injured on Monday during an operation against the Ugandan rebels, the UN said.
MONUC said for the past 10 days, 80 Guatemalan soldiers had been carrying out reconnaissance operations in the Garamba park, on the border with Sudan, looking for members of the rebel LRA.
“The unit which was conducting an operation in this area established contact with rebel elements at 6:00am. There followed an exchange of fire lasting four hours, requiring the intervention of armed helicopters,†the UN statement said.
“There are at least 15 of them dead but we are still counting... The group, which we estimate to have been 50 or 60, has been mostly killed or wounded,†said the UN military spokesman for the eastern division, Major Hans-Jakob Reichen.
Nine Bangladeshi peacekeepers were killed in a rebel ambush in the nearby Ituri district in february 2005. The losses were among the worst suffered by the UN force in Congo.
The injured Guatemalan peacekeepers were taken to hospital in Bunia town, the UN statement said.