SA troops attack jihadist rebels

Battle-hardened South African troops on a UN peacekeeping mission have launched assaults on Islamic rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The assaults, backed by the SA Air Force's Rooivalk attack helicopters, follow days of attacks by the Allied Democratic Forces - a Ugandan Islamic rebel group.But the South African attacks were made without the blessing of the DRC government, which views the rebels as mere nuisances.On Sunday ADF forces attacked two UN bases in the eastern DRC, a hospital and villages, killing a Malawian UN peacekeeper, hacking patients to death in their beds, and injuring and killing scores of civilians.The UN forces, part of the world organisation's Force Intervention Brigade, managed to fight off the attackers after a 10-hour battle.The rebels attempted further attacks on villages on Monday, prompting retaliation by the UN, which the DRC military has not backed.Rifts between the DRC government - which the UN peacekeepers back in military operations - and the UN has led to the DRC's army leaders not assisting in the counter-assaults on the ADF.The ADF is a union of Islamic fundamentalists from the Tablighi Jamaat group and the remnants of the Islamic National Army for the Liberation of Uganda.It is regarded as a terrorist group. US and Ugandan intelligence agencies believe it has aligned itself with the Somali terror group al-Shabab.The rift between the DRC government and the UN is believed to have developed after the UN refused to allow two senior DRC army commanders, accused of turning a blind eye to war crimes committed by their forces, from taking part in its forces' operations.Tensions between the DRC military and the UN came to a head on Monday, when the country's forces attempted to stop UN operations against the ADF.The DRC military yesterday denied that it was unwilling to take on the rebel forces.It said: "The DRC government rejects the UN claims that it is not serious about dealing with rebel forces."Major-General Barney Hlatshwayo, the SANDF's chief director of operations, speaking to The Times yesterday in Goma, where the Rooivalk squadron is based, said the DRC had to accept that the UN had a role to play."There has to be co-operation. We are not going away now, or any time soon. The quicker this is understood the better. We are part of the UN and will do whatever is required, whenever it's required, wherever it is required."Hlatshwayo said there were many rebel groups who were "problematic" in the DRC.Colonel Bayanda Mkala, commander of the South African contingent in the DRC, said: "The DRC forces have not worked with us against the Rwandan rebel group since May."It is because of a fallout over a human-rights assessment of actions by the government troops by the UN, which was done without informing the DRC government."This left the government angry. The result is that they do not operate with us against this particular rebel group."He said the DRC government's attitude had created huge problems in trying to counter heavily armed rebel forces, which committed human-rights crimes."Ideally we want to operate and conduct joint planning of operations with the DRC military, but we do not have to. Our mandate is clear - neutralise any and all external armed forces - and that is exactly what we are doing and will continue to do no matter who those forces are."He said operations by the SANDF against the ADF were continuing."The Rooivalk have since Sunday been involved in hostile operations. Certain bases which were overrun by the ADF have been retaken. Visuals from the helicopters show the weapons the hostile forces had. They were heavily and well armed."We are assessing the extent of the damage we inflicted."An SA Air Force member with knowledge of the operations against the ADF said the Rooivalk crews had been involved in intense battles."They have been coming back empty repeatedly. They are using all their ammunition ... machineguns, cannons. Everything they got they are pouring into these guys."It is some of the heaviest fighting that the crew has been involved in. These rebels are well armed, ruthless and not afraid."A South African diplomatic source in Kinshasa said the tensions between the DRC government and the UN was mounting.The diplomat said not only was the DRC government trying to frustrate the UN's military operations but wanted the UN force considerably reduced."They are pushing for the numbers to drop [from about 20000] to 7000."The DRC ambassador to South Africa, Nene M'poko, denied that there was a rift between the UN and his country. He said the DRC was dealing "appropriately" with the threat of the Allied Democratic Force.