Three Kenyan drivers are among 24 truckers kidnapped by a militia group after they were ambushed while driving in a convoy in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
The three Kenyans were abducted together with 21 Tanzanian drivers by a rebel group called Mai-Mai that operates in the DRC.
Tanzanian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mindi Kasiga explained that the rebels attacked the convoy which was being escorted by soldiers from the Congolese Army.
"They were kidnapped by Mai-Mai fighters on June 29 in Lulimba, in South Kivu province, while they were on their way to the Namoya gold mine in Maniema province," Kasiga said.
The Congolese government assured that they were applying pressure on the rebels and were zeroing in on their camps.
According to regional deputy army spokesman Dieudonne Kasereka, the Army had already captured four fighters.
"Our forces are progressing towards the final barrier, and we have recovered heavy weapons from them," Kasereka stated.
Names of the three Kenyans who were working for two Tanzanian-registered companies when they were abducted have not been released.
The Congolese army is fighting the Mai-Mai rebels in South Kivu in an operation that has so far left 12 people dead.
