AFRICA/DEMOCRATIC CONGO - In remote areas of Ituri where the din of fighting is still heard Catholics pray for the Pope

Bunia (Fides Service)- “Now calm has returned but yesterday we heard the noise of a fierce battle, only a few kilometres away with UN fighter helicopters flying back and forth over the town ” said a local Church source in Bunia, main town in the north east Ituri region of Democratic Congo where at least 50 Lendu militia were killed in clashes with UN peacekeepers MONUC in the same area where on 25 February 9 Bangladeshi MONUC soldiers died in an ambush staged by rebels.
“Reports say that 50 rebel military were killed and two UN soldiers were wounded” the source told Fides. “It is not known if there were civilian casualties”. A Lendu representative said that during the operation launched by the UN troops also 25 civilians, including women and children, were killed. The MONUC spokesman said he could not exclude the possibility of civilian casualties because the militia used ‘people as human shields’ in the battle which happened 30 km from Bunia in the region of Ituri rich in minerals, and a temptation for many, and where there has been more violence against civilians .
“The operation would appear to target only the armed groups responsible for the death of the UN peacekeepers” the source told Fides. “However there are dozens of armed groups in Ituri which terrorise the people. The problem must be tackled at the root and the disarmament programme included in the peace agreement must go ahead”.
“Despite the situation of violence Catholics in Bunia and the rest of Ituri are praying for the Pontiff” the source told Fides. “People follow the development of the Pope’s illness with the help of the radio, and during every Mass people make spontaneous prayers for the recovery of the Pope and this shows that he is deeply loved” the source concluded. (Agenzia Fides 3/2/2005 righe 31 parole 396)