A joint offensive by the Congolese army and the United
Nations mission MONUSCO has made significant gains over the last one month
according to the UN.
The FRPI is a rebel group fighting for control of natural resources in Congo's
Ituri province.
The group was recently involved in a series of brutal
civilian massacres, and made itself a high-priority target for the Congolese
army and the U.N. mission, MONUSCO.
The U.N. tried to persuade the FRPI to lay down its arms
during talks at Aveba at the beginning of the month, but the negotiations broke
down.
That was when the U.N. and the Congolese army stepped up
their operations against the rebels.
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| Two MONUSCO soldiers stand guard in Goma, DRC |
He said the fighting on June 3 started after the FRPI had
left the negotiating table, and after they were offered the option of
surrendering their weapons and coming under the U.N.’s protection.
Official casualty figures are 35 killed, 52 wounded and 36
who surrendered.
Between 20 and 30 percent of the FRPI have been “neutralized”
in the past three weeks, MONUSCO Chief Martin Kobler said
“Neutralize” is military terminology for eliminating a
threat or killing a target.
Kobler said MONUSCO’s ground troops in the area, a Bangladeshi
contingent, have gone well beyond their normal role of protecting civilians.