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An armed group that seized control of the town of Kilwa on Friday, in the mineral-rich southeastern Congolese province of Katanga, is widening its control of the area, one of its commanders has said.
"We are in the process of taking other towns and cities," Prince Mulala, who identified himself as a "colonel" and the Pweto sector commander of the Mayi-Mayi militia in the area, told IRIN from Kilwa.
UN-sponsored Radio Okapi reported that the insurgents had replaced the local authorities in Kilwa, a mining town on the shores of Lake Mweru, which borders Zambia.
Mulala said his men were fighting because they had not been integrated into the unified army in accordance with the April 2003 power sharing agreement between the government, several rebel factions and political organisations.
"It is a normal reaction when combatants have not had their pay for a very long time," Chikez Diemu, the vice-governor of Katanga, told IRIN from the provincial capital Lubumbashi, about 300 km southwest of Kilwa.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s central government in Kinshasa is supposed to have regained control of all parts of the country following a comprehensive peace agreement reached in April 2003.
The attack on Kilwa started around 2 a.m. on Thursday, creating panic among its 6,000 inhabitants. Employees at Anvil Mining, an Australian company mining copper and cobalt, have been evacuated.
"This area is subject to banditry by the Mayi-Mayi. Pockets terrorise the area from time to time," Diemu said. "[Government] Reinforcements are being sent to try to retake control."
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
