The Congolese Association for Access to Justice (l'Association Congolaise pour l'Accès à la Justice (ACAJ)) has slammed the regional government of Katanga Province over its repeated failure to provide adequate security at Lubumbashi Luano International Airport following numerous attacks in the last two years.
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| Lubumbashi Luano Airport (CJVanWyk) |
In a statement issued on 24 December, ACAJ called for better protection of personal property and blasted the lack of security at Lubumbashi, Katanga, after armed clashes in Hewa Bora neighborhood, close
to the airport, between the Congolese National Police (PNC) patrol and a
group of assailants identified as "Mai-Mai" (otherwise known as "Kata Katanga") on 21 December.
ACAJ requested judicial authorities of Katanga to seriously investigate the repeated attacks directed against Lubumbashi's international airport, as well as persistent reports of the existence of armed militias in
the pay of some politicians.
"The perpetrators of these dastardly acts and their sponsors must be identified by a panel of independent and impartial investigation, which shall include among its members representatives of civil society, in order to bring to justice and enable victims to know the truth and obtain compensation for the damages suffered serious and huge," said ACAJ National Vice President, Mr. Romain Mindomba.
Lubumbashi's airport has been attacked twice in the last two years: in February 2011,
20 armed men, said to be members of a secessionist movement, attacked
the runway in the early hours of the morning with the intention of
taking over a munitions depot at the army barracks near the airport. One
guard was killed. In August this year, unidentified gunmen attacked the
airport killing three soldiers, with government forces later
repelling the offensive after several hours of fighting.