UN sends peacekeepers to protect civilians from clashing armed groups in eastern DRC

UNITED NATIONS, June 12 (Xinhua) -- UN peacekeepers have been deployed to protect civilians from fighting between armed groups in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a UN spokesman said on Wednesday.

Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said members of the Zaire and CODECO armed groups clashed at a mining site about 40km from Bunia in Ituri province. Peacekeepers from the UN mission in the DRC, known as MONUSCO, were dispatched to protect civilians.

Several civilian casualties were reported, Haq said.

"A team comprising civilian and military staff also conducted a mission to the Bikima area, about 65km southwest of Bunia, to engage with community members and displaced civilians impacted by attacks from the ADF (Allied Democratic Forces)," he said. "Over 700 families fled their homes due to ADF attacks in March and April."

The spokesman said that since May 25, a series of ADF attacks in Ituri and North Kivu provinces claimed the lives of more than 100 civilians.

The eastern DRC has been wracked for years by attacks from various armed groups, some allegedly financed by neighboring countries, in apparent attempts to reap benefits from the rich mineral wealth in the region. ■