Rebels kill soldier in Suriname

PARAMARIBO, Suriname — Rebels attacked a Surinamese army patrol guarding economic sites in the South American nation’s eastern jungles, killing one soldier and wounding two, the state-run Suriname News Agency reported Wednesday.

The attack raised the casualty toll to at least four soldiers killed and 22 wounded in clashes since insurgents and negotiators for civilian President Ramsewak Shankar signed a preliminary cease-fire accord June 29.

Rebel casualties are unknown, although a French mercenary was killed by troops July 30.

There has been no formal contact between the two sides since the signing.

The SNA reported that rebels killed one soldier and wounded two in the attack on a patrol Monday in the Patamacca region, about 60 miles east of Paramaribo.

The slain soldier was identified as Sgt. Steve Bleau, 22, son of Edmund Bleau, registrar of the National Assembly.

The patrol was guarding a bauxite mine and a palm-oil plantation – both considered vital to the struggling economy, the brief SNA dispatch said.

Rebel leader Ronnie Brunswijk, a former army private, began the uprising in July 1986 against the former military government. Origins of the fighting are obscure, and an estimated 500 people — most of them noncombatants — have been killed in the fighting.

The SNA report said the latest rebel attack included ‘white mercenaries’ but did not elaborate. The army has accused the Netherlands and France of aiding the rebels, a charge denied by both nations.

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Date:
August 10, 1988
Categories:
Tags:
Boxes:
Press
Years:
1988
Persons:
Edmun Bleau, Steve Bleau
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