Police in the Democratic Republic of Congo has said that at least 26 people have been killed in an eight-hour gun fighting between government and rebel forces.

The fighting was said to have occurred in the second largest city of Lubumbashi on late Tuesday where rebels fighting government troops have vowed to create their own state in the area.

The rebels known as the Mai Mai Kata Katanga which is a secessionist group in the province of Katanga have been fighting the government in Kinshasa for independence.

The group is led by Gedeon Kyungu Mutanga, who was freed during an attack by gunmen on Lubumbashi’s prison in September 2011.

The Katanga region is the richest natural resource area in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Many people in the city were said to have left their homes in fear of being killed and businesses were shut and people who stayed behind stayed indoors throughout the day.

Police chief in Lubumbashi, Patrick Sadiki told reporters that the dead include government troops and rebel fighters but made no mention of any civilian casualty.

“Government troops were patrolling Lubumbashi when they came under fire from rebels, the rebels killed some troops and troops also killed some of them, they have been pushed out of the city’’, he said.

The Democratic Republic of Congo is flooded with a variety of different rebel groups with some coming from neighboring countries. Last year, a notorious rebel group known as the M 23 rebels surrendered to the government.

The inability of the government to form a strong state makes the rebels flourish and carry out their activities much easier.

With a population of 75.5 million, the Democratic Republic of Congo covers 2,344,858 square km of land in the centre of Africa, making it the 12th largest country in the world.

The Country has abundant mineral wealth. It has more than 70% of the world’s coltan which is used to make vital components of mobile phones, 30% of the planet’s diamond reserves and vast deposits of cobalt, copper and bauxite.

Issaka Adams / NationalTurk Africa News

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