Security forces in the mining town of Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of Congo managed to bring under control an attempted prison escape from Kassapa prison, located on the town’s outskirts.
Haut-Katanga province’s Information minister and spokesman Harce Kayumba told AFP that there were some casualties in the incident but did not elaborate further.
“There were no deaths but there are injured,” Kayumba said.
The attempt came in the wake of separatist rebels storming the major mining town in Haut-Katanga province early on Saturday morning, local officials said.
The provincial interior minister Philbert Kunda Milundu told AFP that the rebels managed to reach the town centre.
“Bakata Katanga insurgents entered the town from 1a.m.,” Milundu said.
The rebels managed to raise the flag of the former republic of Katanga in one of the town’s main squares, according to witnesses who spoke to AFP.
A large number of security personnel, from the military and the police, were deployed even as state television and radio went off the air in the town.
Gunfire was reported during the incursion though it only became sporadic as calm was restored.
“The situation is under control. It’s time to clean up,” Kayumba said.
He added that security forces had been ordered not to shoot at the rebels but to follow them on their way through.
“The shooting you can hear now is more dissuasive than confrontational, at least for now.”
Haut-Katanga was one of four provinces formed following the breakup of Katanga after independence six decades ago.
The rebels have been pushing for the independence of the mineral-rich Katanga, which has been plagued by secessionist violence for several years resulting in the killings and displacements of many people.
The rebels had been disbanded with the aim of returning them to civilian life but they claimed that they were neglected by the government following a training stint at an army base.
