ONE MONUC PEACEKEEPER KILLED, SEVEN OTHERS

C O N F I D E N T I A L KINSHASA 000851

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/30/2016
TAGS: PGOV MOPS KPKO CG
SUBJECT: ONE MONUC PEACEKEEPER KILLED, SEVEN OTHERS
CAPTURED IN ITURI

Classified By: PolOff CBrown, reasons 1.4 b/d.


1. (C) Officials with MONUC and the Armed Forces of the DRC
(FARDC) confirmed that one Nepalese peacekeeper was killed
May 28 during an anti-militia operation in Ituri and that
seven other Nepalese peacekeepers were captured. During
Operation Ituri Element 3, a joint search-and-cordon
operation which began May 27 near Tsupu (six miles northwest
of Fataki),a platoon of MONUC and FARDC troops was ambushed
by elements of the Front for National Integration (FNI),the
militia led by Peter Karim. During an intense firefight,
three Nepalese peacekeepers were wounded and subsequently
airlifted back to MONUC medical facilities in Bunia.
Following this initial engagement, MONUC sources said seven
peacekeepers were then encircled by enemy militia. At this
point, MONUC reports that radio contact was lost with the
Nepalese forces.


2. (C) MONUC military officials said MONUC deployed
reinforcements to the area, consisting of one mortar unit,
twenty additional peacekeepers and several helicopter
gunships. According to MONUC sources, when the reinforcements
arrived, they were unable to locate the seven peacekeepers,
but did discover the "badly mutilated" body of one Nepalese
peacekeeper. MONUC officials said they did not know if the
disfiguring occurred pre- or post-mortem. Congolese military
officials report there were no FARDC casualties and no known
militia casualties. The death of the Nepalese peacekeeper
brings the number of MONUC fatalities in 2006 to 7, a total
of 74 since MONUC began operations in the Congo.


3. (C) MONUC spokesman Kemal Saiki said MONUC has been in
contact with intermediaries to demand the release of the
Nepalese peacekeepers. Saiki said MONUC officials in Ituri
received a visit from a priest and a local chief, who
conveyed the demands of the militia that reportedly captured
the MONUC troops. According to Saiki, the militia group
claimed it was holding the peacekeepers and demanded between
USD 20,000-25,000 for each one to be released. Saiki also
said the militia demanded that MONUC ground all of its
helicopters. (Note: MONUC helicopters, and their accompanying
firepower, have proven to be potent weapons against the
militia in Ituri. End note.) Saiki said the militia's
emissaries did not provide any proof as to the condition of
the hostages nor evidence they were, in fact, in militia
custody. MONUC-Bunia Head of Office Charles Gomis confirmed
he traveled to Kwandruma (approximately 24 miles northwest of
Fataki) May 29 to deliver a message to intermediaries of the
militia. According to MONUC sources, Gomis' message was not
meant to initiate negotiations; rather, MONUC demanded the
immediate release of the hostages, without conditions.


4. (C) PolOff spoke the morning of May 30 to the MONUC
Eastern Division Chief of Operations, who said MONUC was
actively working on securing the release of the seven
peacekeepers. This official, as well as other MONUC military
officers, said they hope the situation can be resolved as
soon as this afternoon. Post will continue to monitor
developments.
MEECE