KINSHASA — Six Indian troops from the UN monitoring force in the Democratic Republic of Congo and their interpreter were wounded in an ambush in the conflict-ridden east of the country, a UN mission spokesman said Wednesday.
The United Nations gave no details of the injuries but a source in Goma, capital of North Kivu province, said one of the soldiers had been seriously hurt.
MONUSCO spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Felix Basse said an 18-strong patrol was returning to its base late Tuesday when it came under fire from unidentified attackers near the border with Uganda.
He said the wounded had been taken back to their base at Nyamilima and would be evacuated Wednesday to Goma.
The troops had been patrolling the area between Nyamilima and Ishasha, a border town near Lake Edward, when they came across four bodies near the village of Buganza, about 10 kilometres (six miles) south of Ishasha.
Patrols were immediately sent out until 10 pm to protect civilians, Basse said.
Around 11:30 pm (2230 GMT), as the Indian patrol was pulling out of Buganza, it came under fire from unidentified armed attackers, with its interpreter also hit.
MONUSCO has some 17,000 troops, deployed mainly in the chronically unstable but resource rich east to protect local residents.
The region of Inshasa in North Kivu is to the north of the region of Rutshuru that has been controlled for several months by the M23 movement of army mutineers.
About two weeks ago, the M23 tried to seize Inshasa, which has a key role because of the goods that transit through it. Fighting broke out with a local militia, the Mai Mai.
Also active in the region according to a local source are the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), who are made up of former Rwandan troops and individuals accused of taking part in the 1994 Rwanda genocide.
A local source said FDLR fighters had clashed with the Mai Mai last weekend.
The area is fought over because of the existence of small-scale mines from which the rare mineral coltan, in particular, is extracted.(JP)
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