MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguayan peacekeepers said to be OK after violence hits UN mission in Congo

Three UN peacekeepers were killed in other clashes

Uruguayan peacekeeping forces in Congo have been reported to be in good health after riots took place at the local UN headquarters where the South American troops are stationed.

Uruguay's Army Tuesday issued a communiqué stating there were demonstrations with riots and looting Monday at the UN buildings in the city of Goma, in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Most of the Uruguayan military contingent and the entire Uruguay IV Battalion is deployed there, in addition to the mission's military observers. The entire Uruguayan delegation was reported to be “in good health,” the communiqué read.

The Uruguayan Army also told local media in Montevideo that the troops were still in the area and that the Congolese police were still working to control the situation in the streets.

The UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, known as MONUSCO, is one of the world’s biggest peacekeeping operations. At least five people were killed and about 50 injured during anti-UN protests in the eastern city of Goma.

Crowds Monday stormed a MONUSCO headquarters and supply base in Goma, the chief city in North Kivu province, and the protests spread Tuesday to Beni and Butembo to the north. Butembo police chief Colonel Paul Ngoma said three peacekeepers there (two Indians and a Moroccan) had been killed, while seven demonstrators had died and several others were wounded.

Protesters smashed windows and looted valuables, while helicopters airlifted UN staff from the premises, and security forces fired teargas in a bid to push them back. The unrest in Goma continued Tuesday, with the fatal shooting of a man near the logistical base.