1 Die, Others Face Arrest As Youths Attack UN Base In DR Congo
At least one person was killed in an attack on a MONUSCO base. Locals have been expressing grievances against MONUSCO since July in Butembo town.
One young man was killed, and two others were arrested when Democratic Republic of Congo security forces repelled ‘attacks’ on Tuesday, August 23, 2022, on a United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in DR Congo (MONUSCO) base in Butembo town, North Kivu.
According to the spokesperson of the Operations Sokola 1 of the Congolese army, Captain Anthony Mwalushayi, the ‘attack’ was launched at 4 a.m. against the base situated in Bel Air, near the council chambers, before the assailants were pushed back.
“By attacking the base, they wanted to ensure that there were still elements in the camp. We neutralised one of them and captured two others. They are young and are being interrogated now to determine the group to which they belong,” the military officer revealed, adding that assailants headed towards Mihake, near Furu to the northwest of Butembo, and attacked a new military camp that was just completed on Monday.
“This attack might have been unplanned. We had just finished building a military camp in this area on Monday. The youths opposed the camp being built there and asked that it be delocalised. That was why it was attacked,” Captain Mwalushayi revealed.
Several inhabitants, notably from Mihake, have since fled, fearing further attacks after the building of a military camp in their midst.
These incidents are coming on the heels of the announced delocalisation of MONUSCO in Butembo, a decision MONUSCO and the Congolese authorities took following recent anti-MONUSCO demonstrations in some parts of the country.
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