32 Indians hurt in Congo blast

8-year-old girl killed, injured peacemakers admitted to UN hospital.

A grenade blast during a routine physical training session injured 32 peacekeepers of the Indian Army on Tuesday in Goma in Congo. The blast also claimed the life of a eight-year-old girl.

Army officials in New Delhi said most of the injuries are of a superficial nature and only two jawans needed surgery. The peacekeepers were being treated at a UN military hospital. The blast did not seem like an accident, according to preliminary reports. More details are awaited.

At least 3,500 soldiers of the Indian Army are posted in Congo as part of the UN peacekeeping duty. The injured soldiers belong to Indian Battalion 1. The UN mission’s troops and police personnel are drawn from over 50 countries and was deployed in 1999. United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in DR Congo is a peacekeeping force established by the UN Security Council to monitor the peace process in the country.

“A grenade exploded, regretably, killing a girl of roughly eight-years-old... Another civilian was injured,” said Bilamekaso Tchagbele, the information chief for the UN’s force in DR Congo.

The blue helmets were struck as they were exercising and the injured servicemen were taken to a UN military hospital, he added.

“An investigation has been opened to determine where the grenade came from,” said Mr Tchagbele.

Abdoul Bikulo, an official in the Kyshero district of Goma where the blast ocurred, confirmed the schoolgirl’s death.

The blast in the east threatens to compound existing tensions in DR Congo, where fears are mounting that President Joseph Kabila plans to hold on to power after his second mandate expires in December.

A wave of clashes pitting police against demonstrators hit the country in late September, as the opposition demanded Mr Kabila’s resignation.