"The armed men also arrested the seven passengers of the aircraft: according to MISNA sources, they are soldiers backed by a warlord known as Jerome, a former general who was discharged from Nyamwisi’s movement and is now allied with Chef Kawa, leader of a pro-Ugandan armed militia operating around Lake Albert in Ituri." A sizeable quantity of arms and ammunition, presumably destined for the militias operating in the northeastern region of Ituri, was confiscated at Beni airport, north Kivu, last Sunday. The announcement was made yesterday by the leader of the RCD-ML (Congolese Rally for Democracy-Liberation Movement), Mbusa Nyamwisi, who said the discovery had been made on board an Antonov owned by a private Congolese carrier. The aircraft had departed from the Aru region and was heading for Mongwalu when it was presumably forced to make an emergency landing in Beni due to bad weather conditions. On inspecting the plane, a group of men belonging to RCD-ML uncovered 30 60-mm calibre and 38 82-mm calibre mortar shells and 14 cases of AK47 ammunition, to a total of 21,000 cartridges. The armed men also arrested the seven passengers of the aircraft: according to MISNA sources, they are soldiers backed by a warlord known as Jerome, a former general who was discharged from Nyamwisi’s movement and is now allied with Chef Kawa, leader of a pro-Ugandan armed militia operating around Lake Albert in Ituri. According to Nyamwisi, the ‘booty’ was handed over to MONUC, the UN Mission in ex-Zaire, to be destroyed, while the seven men have been transferred to a secret location for questioning. The Antonov was then authorised to depart.
Netters:
This is yet another clear indication that the NRM military dictatorship in Kampala continues to re-arm DRC War Lords and thus help instigate even more wars in the Region. This comes at time when there is tremendous international Pressure on the regime in kampala to resist from arming DRC warlords.
BENI: ARMS TRAFFIC TO ITURI DISCOVERED
General, Standard
[CO]
