Protesters Attack Un Mission'S Base In Dr Congo, Injuring Peacekeepers

Protesters attack UN mission's base in DR Congo, injuring peacekeepers < br /> 2012-05-15 20:12:17 GMT+7 (ICT) BUNYIAKIRI, CONGO (BNO NEWS) -- Eleven Pakistani peacekeepers were seriously injured on Monday when hundreds of protesters attacked a United Nations (UN) mission's base in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), officials said on Tuesday.The incident happened when an estimated 1,000 people surrounded a base of the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) in the Bunyiakiri area of South Kivu province, which is located in the country's volatile east.During the large protest, some of the protesters threw stones at the base while an unknown number of gunmen opened fire. "The Mission says elements of the Mayi-Mayi group, Rai Mutomboki, an armed self-defense group, may have been part of the protest and may have fired on the peacekeepers," said UN spokesman Martin Nesirky.Seven peacekeepers sustained bullet wounds while at least four others were seriously injured after being hit with stones.Nesirky said the people outside the base were protesting against attacks in the area by the Rwandan rebel group best known by its French name the Forces Démocratiques pour la Libération du Rwanda (FDLR), or the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda. Calm later returned to the area but the situation remained tense.The members of the UN Security Council strongly condemned the attack and demanded that all parties cooperate fully with MONUSCO, which has some 19,000 uniformed personnel on the ground and has overseen the country's emergence from years of civil war and factional chaos."The members of the Security Council expressed their sympathy to those wounded in the attacks, as well as to the Government of Pakistan," said UN Security Council President Agshin Mehdiyev. "They also reiterated their serious concern about the deteriorating security and humanitarian situation in the Kivus and the impact on the Congolese population. They encouraged the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to ensure that the perpetrators of the attacks are brought to justice swiftly."

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