A French-led force sent to protect civilians in the Congolese town of Bunia set a 72-hour deadline on Saturday for gunmen to leave the town where ethnic bloodletting killed hundreds last month. The force also urged the government in Kinshasa to withdraw newly-arrived armed police reinforcements, saying they violated a peace deal. France is supplying the bulk of the troops for the international force, which began deploying on June 6 after an appeal from the United Nations to intervene in the town where gun-toting militiamen are a common sight on the mud streets. The commander of the force, General Jean Paul Thonier gave the deadline at talks with Thomas Lubanga, the head of the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) militia group, which seized control from rival militiamen in May. “The General has stipulated that there will be no weapons after 72 hours,” said the spokesman for the international force, Colonel Gerard Dubois. “Weapons that remain will be confiscated,” he told reporters in Bunia. Full Story
About OODA Analyst
OODA is comprised of a unique team of international experts capable of providing advanced intelligence and analysis, strategy and planning support, risk and threat management, training, decision support, crisis response, and security services to global corporations and governments.