A Congolese civilian has been shot dead and another injured following a misunderstanding between a group of youth and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) and Uganda Peoples Defense Forces (UPDF) soldiers on night patrol in Kalemia, Ruwenzori sector, Beni territory, North Kivu province.
The incident occurred around 07:00 PM on Monday in Kalemia about 10 kilometres from the Kasindi-Buliriha border post. According to security sources, a group of youth belonging to local vigilantes in the area was holding a campfire in Kalemia when a group of FARDC and UPDF soldiers on foot patrol emerged.
Barthelemy Kambale, the delegated official of the provincial governor in Kasindi, says that a scuffle broke out when the youth blocked soldiers from proceeding to Muramba hills for military operations. They demanded an explanation from the soldiers as to why they are carrying out an operation at night and without informing local leaders and groups of self-defence.
Lieutenant-Colonel Mak Azukay, spokesperson for the joint FARDC-UPDF operations confirmed on Tuesday that the misunderstanding resulted in a scuffle where soldiers started shooting in the air to disperse the youth and killed one of the youths in the process and injured another.
Azuky says that soldiers were forced to shoot because the self-defence youth group was not known to them and declined to cooperate. He declined to reveal the identities of the victims. He called for calm, saying investigations into the matter have started.
UPDF stormed eastern DR Congo in November last year to help FARDC to neutralize Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels.
