Niemba

Niemba is a town in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Katanga Province. It is situated on the Lukuga River, a tributary of the Lualaba river. The population is around 1,800. It is connected by rail to Kalemie.

Niemba Ambush

The Niemba Ambush took place on November 8, 1960. Ireland had deployed Irish Army troops as ONUC peacekeepers during the Congo Crisis. On 8 November, an eleven-man Irish platoon was patrolling a nearby bridge over the Luweyeye River, where they were ambushed by Baluba tribesmen armed with bows and poison-tipped arrows, as well as some guns. The patrol was first hit with a wave of poison-tipped arrows. Some soldiers were wounded and bludgeoned to death, while others were hit and died minutes later. The Irish soldiers returned fire with their Gustav submachine guns, Lee Enfield rifles and Bren light machine guns, causing casualties among the Baluba. The remaining Irish troops regrouped by a ridge but were surrounded, and continued to fire. All but two of the soldiers were killed, and the survivors escaped and were found by other UN troops the following day.^[1] The platoon commander, Lieutenant Kevin Gleeson from Carlow, was killed in the action along with Sgt. H. Gaynor, Cpl. P. Kelly, Cpl. L. Dougan, Pte. M. Farrell, Tpr. T. Fennell, Tpr. Anthony Browne, Pte. M. McGuinn and Pte. G. Killeen. Twenty-five Baluba tribesmen were also killed.

For his conduct during the ambush, 19 year old Tpr. Browne was posthumously awarded the Military Medal for Gallantry, Ireland's highest military award. A stone commemorating Lt. Gleeson can be found in Carlow town.

References