Indian peacekeepers foil loot bid by civilian armed groups in Congo

International

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Kinshasa,
July
25:
The
Indian
Army
on
Monday
thwarted
attempts
by
civilian
armed
groups
in
Congo
to
loot
Indian
Army
operating
bases
and
a
hospital,
ANI
reported.
The
development
came
as
certain
civilian
armed
groups
attempted
large-scale
looting
of
UN
assets
in
Congo.

“Indian
Army
today
thwarted
attempts
by
certain
civilian
armed
groups
in
Congo
to
loot
Indian
Army
operating
bases
and
Level
III
hospital
by
robust
actions.
The
actions
by
Indian
peacekeepers
deployed
there
are
strictly
in
accordance
with
UN
mandate
and
rules
of
engagement,”
ANI
quoted
Army
officials
as
saying.

The
Army
said
there
were
reports
of
certain
UN
office
complexes
being
ransacked
and
they
were
closely
monitoring
the
situation.

“Indian
Peacekeepers
have
ensured
safety
of
UN
personnel
and
property
in
locations
of
their
deployment.
The
situation
in
UN
peacekeeping
mission
in
Congo
(MONUSCO)
had
developed
wherein
certain
civilian
armed
groups
attempted
large-scale
looting
of
UN
assets,”
the
Army
said.

The
Indian
Army,
as
part
of
United
Nations
Peacekeeping
force,
has
its
presence
in
eight
out
of
14
United
Nations
Missions
worldwide
and
currently
has
over
5,400
military
personnel
deployed
under
the
UN
flag.

In
May,
an
armed
group
launched
an
unprovoked
attack
on
MONUSCO
(United
Nations
Mission
in
the
Democratic
Republic
of
Congo)
and
FARDC
(Congolese
Army)
positions
in
Congo.
The
Indian
Army
and
troops
of
other
nationalities
under
the
UN
flag
fended
off
the
attack
by
carrying
out
a
coordinated
resistance
with
the
FARDC.

In
a
statement
on
May
24,
the
United
Nations
Security
Council
(UNSC)
condemned
the
attack
and
called
it
a
“deliberate
attack
targeting
peacekeepers”.