MADRID, November 27 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The armies of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Burundi have confirmed this Sunday the death of at least 40 Burundian rebels in Congolese territory, specifically in the province of South Kivu, in the east of the country, after clashes that occurred last Friday.
The deceased were presumed members of the National Liberation Forces (FLN) militias. According to a statement collected by the Congolese portal 7sur7, the joint force of the DRC and Burundi launched an attack on Friday against members of this militia, led by the self-proclaimed Burundian general Aloys Nzabampema, around the town of Nabombi.
The rebels have taken refuge in the Itombwe forest in Mwenga territory, while the joint force has launched a search and capture operation.
The FLN is one of about 130 different armed groups active in eastern Congo, a region that is home to 90 million people and the scene of many valuable natural resources.
To try to appease this long crisis, the Congolese government will meet this Monday in Nairobi (Kenya) with the representatives of some of these armed groups, with the mediation of former Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta.
Several East African leaders also met last week in Luanda, the Angolan capital, to advance a proposed peace process for eastern Congo, whose main focus of conflict in recent weeks has been the confrontation between the Army Congolese and the March 23 rebel movement in North Kivu, currently under an uneasy ceasefire.
