in the news

By David Lewis

KINSHASA, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Heavily armed gunmen have
seized a town and nearby copper mine in southeastern Congo, aid
workers and government officials said on Thursday.

The attack on Kilwa, a town on the edge of Lake Moero which
borders Congo's Katanga province and Zambia, prompted
international mining company Anvil to evacuate staff
from its mine, U.N. officials and an industry source said.

"We have been told by aid agencies on the ground that
heavily armed men last night marched into and took the town of
Kilwa," Alexandre Essome, a spokesman for Congo's United Nations
mission, said by phone from Katanga's capital Lubumbashi.

"There was some shooting but we don't know if anyone was
killed," he added. "But the staff from the mine have been
evacuated."

Essome said the identity of the gunmen had not yet been
confirmed but they were thought to include local militias and
Katangan Tigers, rebels who have fought for secession in
southeastern Congo.

Anvil officials could not immediately be reached for
comment.

Congo is struggling to recover from a five-year war that
sucked in six neighbouring countries and killed three million
people, mostly through hunger and disease.

A mining industry source said the Congolese army was
planning to confront the attackers.

"These were Portuguese-speaking soldiers who came into town
last night. The government forces ran away," the source said.

"Anvil has evacuated their staff but the Congolese army is
due to go in to resolve the problem tomorrow."

The Democratic Republic of Congo's transitional government
confirmed the attack but played down its importance.

"Yes, there was an attack but it is not too serious and at
the moment is still limited to the area near the border,"
government spokesman Henri Mova Sakanyi said.

"The situation is still fluid but the army is taking steps
to get it under control," he added.





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