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UN says 32 died in last week's Kisangani fighting

Country Map - DRC (Kisangani) IRIN
The delegation also paid its respects to victims of a lightning storm that struck the city on 12 December
    NAIROBI

    At least 32 people died in fighting last week between rival factions of an anti-government militia in the eastern city of Kisangani, UN officials told IRIN on Monday. Of this number, 13 were civilians and the rest militiamen.

    The fighting on 14 May was between the Rwandan-backed Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD-Goma) and a splinter of that group, the RCD-Originale. Fighters of the RCD-Originale briefly occupied the local RTNC radio station in the city, calling on all Congolese soldiers to unite and drive Rwandan forces out of the country.

    The Goma faction had at first accused the dissidents of launching an attack. But on 15 May it accused the government of Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the pro-government Mouvement de liberation du Congo (MLC) of attempting to capture Kisangani. RCD-Goma controls the city of some 500,000 residents.

    Also on Wednesday, a UN delegation led by the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC (known by its French acronym MONUC) deputy force commander had a meeting with the governor of Kisangani to try and restore calm to the city. Latest news reports indicate a Rwandan troop deployment to that end. However, MONUC is unable to verify these reports because it has been denied entry into the city.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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