Community elders call for regular supply of army food rations

In an effort to end repeated eruptions of hostilities, an ad hoc committee of community elders in Kinkala, the main city of the department of Pool in southeastern Republic of Congo, have called on the government to ensure that food supplies are provided regularly for soldiers of the national army, the Forces armees congolaises, in the region. "Gunfire has occurred at least twice in the recent past in Kinkala, when soldiers fired in the air to demand their food rations," a driver who regularly travels to the region along National Route 1 told IRIN on Friday. "The first time, one person was injured, and the second time, soldiers threatened to take the departmental governor hostage." In a letter issued on Thursday, the community elders urged that only soldiers on mission be allowed to carry guns, as one means of helping to keep the peace in the region. They also called on the government to speed up the reintegration of ex-combatants from the country's repeated civil wars. Most recently, a year of fighting in Pool between the government and "Ninja" rebels of Rev Frederic Bitsangou, alias Pasteur Ntoumi, was ostensibly brought to end with the signing of a peace accord on 17 March. Tens of thousands of people fled the region, while fighting trapped many more.