UN troops return fire on dissident soldiers

UN troops in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), known as MONUC, fired back on dissident soldiers led by Col Jules Mutebutsi who were fortified inside the South Kivu provincial town of Kamanyola, 40 Km south of Bukavu. The incident took place on Sunday.

"We were forced to retaliate when Mutebutsi's men opened fire on a MONUC helicopter that was carrying out a mission to verify the presence of landmines on the road to Kamanyola," Maj Abou Thiam, the military spokesman of the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, MONUC, said in Kinshasa on Monday.

He said the helicopter had fired 14 rockets as warning shots. Then, governmental troops took control of a strategic bridge to the town, he added. Another MONUC spokesman, Sebastien Lapierre, said Kamanyola remained under the control dissident soldiers.

The renewed fighting came as the DRC government appealed on Monday for help to fly government forces to eastern DRC.

"We are asking the international community to help us transport 5,000 troops before redeploying them in the eastern part of the country," Jean-Pierre Ondekane, the Congolese defence minister, said.

He said the troops would constitute only a part of the government forces that would be deployed to the east.

"The government has been busy deploying troops by means other then an airlift," he added.

In the wake of an attempted coup on 11 June, in the Congolese capital of Kinshasa, President Joseph Kabila suspended the chief of his presidential guard and named a new army chief, Information Minister of Vital Kamerhe said. Kabila named Lt-Gen Kisempia Sungilanga as the replacement of Admiral Liwanga Mata. Katsuva Wa also replaced the inspector general of the police force.