A Belgian reporter has been abducted by pro-government Mai-Mai rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Reporters sans Frontières (RSF) reported Thursday.
RSF has called on the Mai-Mai militiamen holding Belgian journalist Thomas Scheen, together with his interpreter and his driver, in the Rutshuru region of the eastern province of Nord-Kivu to release them at once. Scheen is a correspondent for the leading German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. The organisation expressed concern over their safety since the military situation in the region is extremely volatile.
“We would like to point out that journalists are regarded as civilians under international law and, as such, should be protected by all the parties to the conflict,” Paris-based RSF said. “The group holding Scheen and his assistants have an obligation to release them safe and sound.”
The Belgian foreign ministry said Scheen was “kidnapped by a Mai-Mai movement group” on Wednesday near Rutshuru, where there has been fighting for the past two days between troops under the command of rebel leader Laurent Nkunda and pro-government Mai-Mai militias.
Radio France Internationale (RFI) said Scheen was taken by force towards the locality of Kinyandoni together with his interpreter and driver. The Belgian daily Le Soir reported that Mai-Mia militiamen had claimed responsibility for their abduction and were demanding that the rebels withdraw from Rutshuru. Other sources questioned whether there really had been a Mai-Mai claim of responsibility. RFI reported that the UN Mission in Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) has begun negotiating their release.
Earlier, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) warned that journalists in DRC were facing extreme danger after journalist Alfred Nzonzo Bitwahiki Munyamariza was killed in the town of Rutshuru and Scheen abducted nearby.
"Our colleagues covering the conflict in the Eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo are incredibly vulnerable to violence and abduction," said Gabriel Baglo, director of the IFJ Africa office. "We condemn the killing of our colleague Alfred and call on all the parties in conflict to respect the rights of journalists and to ensure that they are not targeted when they are reporting on the conflict. IFJ is also urging Scheen's kidnappers to release him immediately."
Munyamariza, a 27-year-old journalist and presenter on community radio stationRadio Communautaire Ushikira( Racou), was killed on Tuesday by a single bullet in Rutshuru during a stampede that followed the attack on the village of Kiwanja, according to reports. The journalist's killer is unknown and the victim's colleagues are still in hiding.
"The conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo has claimed many civilian victims," said Baglo. "Now the journalists who are attempting to report on this war are tragically finding themselves under attack."
