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DRC targets militia in ‘large-scale’ army operation
KINSHASA, June 30, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Democratic Republic of Congo’s leader
said Sunday he had ordered the army to launch a “large-scale” operation
against armed groups in the restive east after the killings of scores of
civilians.
“I’ve ordered our armed forces to carry out large-scale operations in the
territories of Djugu and Mahagi” in the volatile Ituri province, President
Felix Tshisekedi said Sunday in the capital Kinshasa.
He added that the offensive would extend to South Kivu province to put a
“definite end” to the dozens of militias roaming the lawless, mineral-rich
region, where millions of lives were lost in a 1998-2003 war.
The instability has forced more than 300,000 people to flee their homes,
the UN refugee agency has said, with people escaping unrest in Djugu
territory especially.
At least 160 civilians have died in Ituri since June 10, according to
local authorities who blame the Ngudjolo militia for the violence.
The army announced last week it had taken control of the group’s
stronghold in an offensive backed by the UN peacekeeping mission MONUSCO.
In Sunday’s speech, Tshisekedi said his government had devised a plan for
the “complete eradication” of foreign armed groups, in collaboration with
MONUSCO and neighbouring countries affected by the violence, particularly
Uganda and Rwanda.
He also hailed the “easing of political tensions” since he took power in
January, saying that political exiles had returned and that rallies were
being held “without hindrance”.
However, he attacked opposition leaders for trying to organise a banned
march in Kinshasa on Sunday and accused them of “confusing democracy with
anarchy”.
His comments came as police firing tear gas blocked the planned march in
Kinshasa, while security forces used tear gas to disperse small groups of
protesters in Goma, the capital of North Kivu.
In addition to the violence, Ituri and North Kivu province are also trying
to roll back a major epidemic of Ebola that has claimed more than 1,400 lives
since last August. Both provinces sit on DR Congo’s eastern border with
Uganda.
BSS/AFP/RY/1750 hrs