Defence Forces to investigate deaths in 1960 Congo ambush

THE Defence Forces are carrying out a fresh investigation into Ireland’s single largest loss of life on a UN mission.

Nine soldiers serving on UN duty in the Congo in 1960 were killed following an ambush at Niemba.

But confusion surrounds precisely how one of the soldiers died.

The nine were part of an 11-strong patrol engaged in fighting with Baluba tribesmen on November 8.

According to the official Defence Forces account of the incident, all nine were killed that day. The two survivors, meanwhile, were found by other Irish patrols during the following 48 hours.

Eight of the nine bodies were also recovered in that period, but it was not until 1962 that the Defence Forces learned the location of the body of the ninth victim, Trooper Anthony Browne.

But the version of Mr Browne’s death was contradicted by a book published last year.

It suggested Mr Browne actually survived the ambush only to be killed near a village where he was foraging for food a few days later.

Following the book’s publication, Defence Minister Willie O’Dea asked the Army to examine the relevant files. It emerged that the history of the unit in which Mr Browne served, written in 1966, held several different accounts of how he died.

The Defence Forces chief of staff, Lieutenant General Jim Sreenan, has since appointed a senior officer to examine “all aspects of the Niemba ambush”.