CHIMPREPORTS
The Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) have killed 11 Mai-Mai militia as the war on negative armed elements rages on in North Kivu in the eastern part of the densely forested and mineral-rich country.
Captain Antony Mualushayi, spokesperson for Sokola1 operations said the rebels were taken out of action in Vuhovi and Karuruma, two entities of the Bashu chiefdom in Beni territory, North Kivu.
DRC’s armed forces intensified military operations against the militia this past weekend.
“The FARDC launched an assault on a Mai Mai Mazembe position in the locality of Karuruma,” said Mualushayi.
“It was the night of January 8 to 9 in the VUHOVI group, between the chiefdom of Bashu and the KABASEWA locality, more or less 20 km from ISALE.”
The allied Ugandan and Congolese forces launched a military operation against ADF on November 30, 2021 after the terror group carried out twin suicide bombings in Kampala, leaving at least 8 people, including 3 attackers dead.
Ugandan officials say the operation is aimed at creating an enabling environment for the construction of critical road and energy infrastructure in eastern DR Congo.
Hundreds of rebels have been killed in skirmishes with Uganda and Congolese military forces in Beni and Ituri among other areas.
Currently, mobile forces are conducting joint operations against ADF.
Mualushayi said the 312nd Rapid Reactions Battalion killed 5 Mai Mai Mazembe combatants. One soldier was captured in the battle.
The 313rd Commando Battalion killed 6 Mai Mai militants who are accused of committing atrocities in the Virunga area.
In May 2007, Mai-Mai killed two wildlife officers in Virunga National Park and threatened to kill mountain gorillas if the government retaliated.
The Mai-Mai are also suspected of the killings of nine mountain gorillas, with the use of machetes, and automatic weapons.
In an October 2012 incident, Mai-Mai killed two park staff and a soldier, while three soldiers were injured. From 1990 to 2018 some 170 Virunga Rangers have died in such attacks, according to the World Wildlife Foundation.
Six Virunga Park Rangers were killed in an ambush and a seventh ranger was injured in the Central section of the reserve on 10 January 2021. Officials suspected the Mai-Mai to be behind the attacks.
Mualushayi said a brave DR Congo soldier died on the battlefield on Sunday.
His body was taken to the morgue of the military hospital in Beni.
The captured rebels will be charged with treason and other war crimes.
Officials said weapons and ammunition were recovered from the rebels.
source https://perilofafrica.com/2022/01/drc-11-mai-mai-fighters-killed-in-beni.html