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Congolese army arrests two over Indian UN slayings

20 August 2010 01:45 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Congolese soldiers have arrested two suspects in the killing of three Indian UN peacekeepers in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a military spokesman announced Thursday, APA reports quoting news.yahoo.com website.
Major Vianney Kazarama told AFP the two men had been arrested earlier Thursday, a day after the attack by around 70 militia members on the Indian contingent’s base.
He said one of the men, named as Tembea Mumbere, had confessed to the killings. "He admitted to everything. He said that they had been sent to track down and kill people with MONUSCO," the acronym for the UN stabilisation mission in the country.
He said a second suspect, named as Justin Kambare, was "currently being interrogated".
He said the suspect was part of the tribal Mai-Mai Pareco militia.
"The motive being put forward is that MONUSCO was blocking their integration into the FARDC forces," the army spokesman said.
A disarmament and integration deal for militia groups is part of a wider peace deal in the mineral rich but restive eastern DR Congo.
Around 60 suspected rebels hacked to death three Indian UN peacekeepers during an attack on their camp early Wednesday in the town of Kirumba.
A further seven Indian troops were wounded in the attack.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon condemned the killings and urged Kinshasa to launch an immediate inquiry to "ensure that the perpetrators are swiftly identified and brought to justice."
The attack was "condemned in the strongest terms" in a statement by the 15-member UN Security Council.