Police calls for vigilance in wake of Ninja attacks

The Republic of Congo (ROC) police called on Wednesday for "vigilance" in the country's capital, Brazzaville, following recent attacks in southern neighbourhoods of the city that left six people dead and several injured. In a statement, the management of the national police reported that "armed bandits" had attacked the neighbourhoods of Nganga Lingolo and Madibou on Monday, burning police offices and pillaging shops. Although local residents told IRIN that anti-government "Ninja" militias were suspected as having carried out the attacks, this could not been confirmed. "In light of these inexcusable terrorist acts, the management of the national police... calls upon the populations of Brazzaville and the surrounding area to be more vigilant in order to reveal the identities of any suspicious persons and those responsible for spreading alarming information aimed at unsettling public order and the peace of mind of citizens," the police said. Hostilities erupted in the ROC at the end of March, when Ninja militias reportedly attacked several government military positions in Pool region, official said. Ninja representatives countered that the clashes were provoked when they discovered government plans to arrest their leader, the Rev Frederic Bitsangou (alias Ntoumi). Following repeated civil wars throughout the 1990s that were ended by ceasefire agreements in 1999, the process of demobilising an estimated 25,000 militia fighters began in ROC. It comprises members of the Cobras (loyal to current President Denis Sassou-Nguesso), the Cocoyes (loyal to former President Pascal Lissouba), and the Ninjas (loyal to former Prime Minister Bernard Kolelas).