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CNN Sunday Morning
Fighting in Bunia Intensifies
Aired June 08, 2003 - 10:40 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Stopping violence between rival militias in the democratic Republic of Congo is the focus for French troops there. A day after their arrival in the northeastern town of Bunia, the fighting is intensifying, and in the middle of all of it, CNN's Catherine Bond. She joins us now via videophone. Hi, Catherine.
CATHERINE BOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The situation calm here after intense fighting yesterday. French troops saying that they carried out two patrols this morning on the outskirts of the town and reporting that the situation was calm both times round.
The French bringing in more supplies for themselves. Some heavy armor as well. They have only been lightly equipped in the past couple of days that they've been here. And we followed the Red Cross around today to see how many civilians needed to be buried. And the Red Cross reburied two people in the neighborhood that we visited.
But it seems that the militias, the Hamma and Lendu ethnic militias, were so intent yesterday upon fighting each other that, mercifully, they didn't have much time to kill civilians as well. Fredricka?
WHITFIELD: Now, Catherine, did -- the French have arrive there to try to quell the violence. Do they realistically believe that small numbers of forces of French troops will be able to make a difference, or is this their way of hoping to garner some other support from some other nations?
BOND: The French are due to deploy about 700 troops here, and they hope they'll be joined by 700 other troops from other nations. Their mandate is quite a strong one of the robust Chapter 7 mandate. It means they can use force if necessary. They can shoot to kill if necessary, for example. It allows them to intervene in a way the U.N. troops, peacekeeping troops here, 700 Uruguayans have been unable to do in the past month.
So, yes, I think the French do think that the armed groups who they wish to leave from the town, to take the militiamen with them -- they want to demilitarize the town -- will heed their summons and that they'll get some agreement from the armed groups themselves and some cooperation in order to do this -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Now, yesterday, Catherine, you and I spoke of the fact that there are many children who are being recruited to take up arms. Is there more evidence of that today? BOND: Yes. We saw a child at a motor bike at a French roadblock today. Not exactly a roadblock, the French had a flat tire on a truck, and they stopped and guarded the truck as they were trying to mend it.
So they were stopping people passing by who had weapons, and one of them was a child who we spoke to. He said he was 13. He could perhaps have been a little younger. And he said that he has killed a lot of people.
Lots of evidence yesterday from people who are moving around town saying yes, there appeared to be a lot of adolescents involved in the fighting, and then after the fighting stopped, many more child soldiers came out onto the street. Fredricka?
WHITFIELD: All right. Catherine Bond from Bunia, Congo. Thank you very much for joining us.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired June 8, 2003 - 10:40 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Stopping violence between rival militias in the democratic Republic of Congo is the focus for French troops there. A day after their arrival in the northeastern town of Bunia, the fighting is intensifying, and in the middle of all of it, CNN's Catherine Bond. She joins us now via videophone. Hi, Catherine.
CATHERINE BOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The situation calm here after intense fighting yesterday. French troops saying that they carried out two patrols this morning on the outskirts of the town and reporting that the situation was calm both times round.
The French bringing in more supplies for themselves. Some heavy armor as well. They have only been lightly equipped in the past couple of days that they've been here. And we followed the Red Cross around today to see how many civilians needed to be buried. And the Red Cross reburied two people in the neighborhood that we visited.
But it seems that the militias, the Hamma and Lendu ethnic militias, were so intent yesterday upon fighting each other that, mercifully, they didn't have much time to kill civilians as well. Fredricka?
WHITFIELD: Now, Catherine, did -- the French have arrive there to try to quell the violence. Do they realistically believe that small numbers of forces of French troops will be able to make a difference, or is this their way of hoping to garner some other support from some other nations?
BOND: The French are due to deploy about 700 troops here, and they hope they'll be joined by 700 other troops from other nations. Their mandate is quite a strong one of the robust Chapter 7 mandate. It means they can use force if necessary. They can shoot to kill if necessary, for example. It allows them to intervene in a way the U.N. troops, peacekeeping troops here, 700 Uruguayans have been unable to do in the past month.
So, yes, I think the French do think that the armed groups who they wish to leave from the town, to take the militiamen with them -- they want to demilitarize the town -- will heed their summons and that they'll get some agreement from the armed groups themselves and some cooperation in order to do this -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Now, yesterday, Catherine, you and I spoke of the fact that there are many children who are being recruited to take up arms. Is there more evidence of that today? BOND: Yes. We saw a child at a motor bike at a French roadblock today. Not exactly a roadblock, the French had a flat tire on a truck, and they stopped and guarded the truck as they were trying to mend it.
So they were stopping people passing by who had weapons, and one of them was a child who we spoke to. He said he was 13. He could perhaps have been a little younger. And he said that he has killed a lot of people.
Lots of evidence yesterday from people who are moving around town saying yes, there appeared to be a lot of adolescents involved in the fighting, and then after the fighting stopped, many more child soldiers came out onto the street. Fredricka?
WHITFIELD: All right. Catherine Bond from Bunia, Congo. Thank you very much for joining us.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
