Fighting broke out on Thursday in the area around Aru, in Ituri District, northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), close to the Ugandan border, news agencies reported. The clashes were due to in-fighting in the rebel Congolese group, Forces armees pour le Congo (FAPC), a breakaway faction of the Hema group, the Union des patriotes congolais (UPC), news agencies said. They said there had been an attempt to topple the FAPC leader, “Commander” Jerome Kakawavu Bakonde, but the attempt had failed and calm had returned to the area. The FAPC controls the area around Aru and Mahagi, where there is a lucrative crossborder trade between DRC and Uganda. Aru is about 170 km north of Bunia, the principal town of Ituri, where at least 300 people have been killed in fighting between ethnic Hema and Lendu militias since the withdrawal of Ugandan soldiers on 6 May. Full Story
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