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