KINSHASA, May 15 (Xinhua) -- At least 13 peacekeepers from the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) were captured last Friday by suspected Mai-Mai militiamen in the province of Tanganyika, in the south-east of the country, according to a UN source in Kinshasa.
Eleven of these peacekeeper have been released, according to the same source. Xinhua learned that all captured MONUSCO soldiers are part of the Beninese contingent, eleven of whom have been released so far.
These soldiers left Kongolo to go to Kalemie when they were intercepted by the attackers.
MONUSCO, who declined to comment further on this information, nevertheless confirmed that everything is being done to release the rest two peacekeepers still detained by the attackers.
The peacekeepers of the UN mission in the DRC have been positioned in Tanganyika province for years. Following the ongoing conflicts between the local communities, including the Pygmies and Bantu, several people have died in this conflict and thousands more still live in IDP camps across the province.
In March, UN chief of humanitarian operations Mark Lowcock visited the DRC to see the humanitarian situation in several provinces of the country, including Tanganyika, where nearly 700 internally displaced people are registered.
