DRC: clashes for control of mining sites, 14 dead (local sources)
A dispute over power and control of mining areas between antagonistic community militias in Maniema, a province in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, has left at least 14 people dead in recent fighting, we learned on Wednesday from local sources.
These fights opposed elements of two Mai-Mai armed groups (term designating self-defense militias of a community nature), one commanded by a certain Hercules, the other led by a man calling himself Mitterrand, specified to AFP Modeste Ngimbi, administrator of the territory of Kabambare (adjoining South Kivu), interviewed from Bukavu.
“The report in our possession shows 14 dead, recorded on both sides, as well as a massive displacement of the population” to localities neighboring the site of the clashes, he added.
A humanitarian coordination meeting devoted to the situation in Kabambare territory was held earlier this week in Kabambare-centre, the capital.
A participant confirmed on condition of anonymity this assessment of three days of fighting, from last Saturday to Monday, specifying that two of the 14 dead were combatants, the others civilians. Rape, torture, looting and destruction of property have also been reported, as well as the presence of children in the ranks of armed groups.
According to him, the security situation has deteriorated since last December in this region where there is a power struggle between communities, in particular for control of gold mines.
