More than 500 arrested in Kambove, DR Congo
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Actualité.cd
The Congolese National Police arrested more than 500 people in Kambove, Haut-Katanga, in an operation targeting, among other things, the illegal occupation of public service positions at a mining site. Police also dismantled a suspected network in Likasi and seized around 30 weapons in Lubumbashi, reports Actualite.cd.
More than 500 people were arrested in Kambove territory, Haut-Katanga, during an operation by the Congolese National Police (PNC) supervised by Divisional Commissioner Blaise Kilimbalimba. The operation targeted, among others, people accused of illegally occupying public service positions at the Kambove Mining site, according to the provincial police chief cited by Actualité.cd.
Accompanied by provincial Interior Minister Jean-Jacques Kashiba, Blaise Kilimbalimba described the mining site as “a republic within a republic”, accusing some individuals of taking the place of state officials. In Likasi, police dismantled a suspected gang and, in Lubumbashi, seized around 30 firearms and ammunition at Camp Major Vangu.
The PNC is maintaining heightened security in Kambove to prevent criminal activity from resuming and to protect economic operators and workers in the mining sector. The operation adds to the tally of more than 500 arrests in Haut-Katanga, reported on 1 November.
