Renewed fighting near home of DRCongo presidential candidate
Heavy weapons fire has erupted near the home of Democratic Republic of Congo vice president and presidential candidate Jean-Pierre Bemba, a day after UN forces rescued 14 ambassadors pinned down there by artillery fire.
"The night was quiet, but this morning an exchange of gunfire resumed in the same area as yesterday" near Bemba's villa on the banks of the Congo River, the spokesman for the European peacekeeping force EUFOR told AFP Tuesday.
According to a military source in the UN peacekeeping mission, MONUC, there was "heavy arms fire, probably machine-gun."
"The clashes are occurring between two camps," soldiers assigned to protect Bemba, and soldiers from the republican guard, loyal to President Joseph Kabila, who will face Bemba in an October 29 presidential run-off election.
Results from first-round voting on July 30, announced Sunday, gave Kabila 44.8 percent of the vote against 20 percent for Bemba.
Since the shooting Monday, UN armored cars have been positioned in front of Bemba's villa and along Kinshasa's main artery, the Boulevard du 30 Juin.
EUFOR has deployed a rapid intervention unit composed of 150 Spanish soldiers and a dozen armored cars, set to be relieved by UN peacekeepers Tuesday morning.
The 14 ambassadors rescued Monday served on the international committee accompanying the country's transition to democracy, known by its French acronym CIAT. They were meeting with Bemba when he villa came under attack.
Bemba's private helicopter was destroyed and the ambassadors sought cover in the villa's cellar.
UN and EUFOR sources estimate that several soldiers were killed during Monday's clashes.
AFP
