29 10 13 Xinhua: Tanzanian army confirms soldier killed in DR Congo

 

Major Eric Komba, the
spokesperson of the Tanzania People's Defense Force (TPDF), identified the
killed soldier as Lieutenant Rajab Ahmed Mlima.

He said the
Tanzanian peacekeeper was shot on Sunday in fighting
with M23 rebels in the town of Kiwanja,
north of the regional capital Goma, the largest city in eastern Congo.

Lieutenant Mlima was killed
and another was injured on the third day of fighting with rebels as the army
pressed toward the rebel stronghold of Rutshuru.

A statement issued by the
TPDF said Mlima was shot dead when he was protecting civilians against rebel
attacks.

The statement said the
United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of
Congo (MONUSCO) was arranging to ferry the body of the soldier to Tanzania.

A contingent of Tanzanian
soldiers arrived in the eastern city of Goma in DR Congo in May as part of the
intervention brigade authorized by the United Nations to help neutralize armed
groups in that volatile part of the country.

In July this year, a
Tanzanian peacekeeper was killed after a grenade was lobbed at their
base by unknown assailants, and several others were injured. One of the injured
soldiers died later in South
Africa where he was being treated.

Seven
Tanzanian peacekeepers were killed and 14 others were injured in Darfur, Sudan,
in July this year when they were attacked by unidentified gunmen.