Tensions are rising again in the Pool Department of the Republic of Congo after the Conseil National des Républicains, or CNR, accused members of the presidential security service of carrying out an armed operation at a site belonging to Frédéric Ntumi in Mounkala, in the district of Mayama.
In a communiqué dated October 7, the CNR said elements of the Direction Générale de la Sécurité Présidentielle, or DGSP, entered the Mounkala site at around 3 p.m., fired live ammunition and burned vehicles belonging to Ntumi. The organization said the operation forced some residents to flee their villages and seek refuge in surrounding forests.
Social media reports circulating Tuesday also described exchanges of gunfire between security forces and members of Ntumi’s security detail. Some reports claimed Ntumi left the area for safety and that DGSP forces later withdrew. Those details have not been independently verified. The latest confrontation follows a series of incidents that the CNR says have increased tensions in the Pool in recent weeks.
According to the organization, Ntumi attempted to travel to Mindouli on September 26 after informing the prefect of the Pool of his planned visit. His convoy, made up of his vehicle and two security pick-ups, was stopped at a checkpoint. The CNR said authorities allowed Ntumi’s vehicle to continue but ordered his security personnel to remain behind. Ntumi eventually turned back to avoid a confrontation.
The CNR also said a drone exploded at Ntumi’s Mounkala site on October 2, killing a 12-year-old child and seriously injuring the child’s mother.
The organization further alleges that the Mounkala and Mihété areas were bombarded earlier this year, between January and February, leaving unexploded ordnance in some locations. It says the government had previously been alerted to the danger.
In its October 7 statement, the CNR condemned the latest events and called on the government to establish an investigative commission to determine responsibility. It also accused the government of jeopardizing the peace process in the Pool and Djoué-Léfini areas.
Concern over the situation is also spreading online. Some Congolese commentators have questioned why the Pool appears to be experiencing renewed military activity and have called on the government to address reports that residents are leaving their villages. One post circulating Tuesday criticized what it described as the use of the Pool as a military “terrain de manoeuvres” and said residents should be receiving protection from the state rather than being driven from their communities.
The Pool has a long history of conflict between government forces and armed groups associated with Ntumi. A peace agreement reached in December 2017 helped end the latest major phase of fighting.
The new allegations therefore raise questions about whether that fragile peace is beginning to break down.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the accounts presented by the CNR and circulating on social media had not been independently verified. No detailed government or DGSP account of the Mounkala operation was included in the material available so far.