Mindouli incident raises renewed security concerns in Pool
An armed altercation reported recently in Mindouli, in the Pool department, has revived public discussion about the fragility of local calm and the importance of prevention. According to Richard Ossa, a departmental adviser, the confrontation opposed a unit of the Directorate General of Presidential Security (DGSP) to a faction described as former Ninja combatants. Speaking at a press briefing in Brazzaville, he denounced the incident and cautioned against the risk of allowing the area—already marked by past hardship—to slide into another cycle of violence.
Ossa’s remarks were carefully calibrated: he presented the episode less as an isolated clash than as a reminder that peace remains a collective responsibility and that renewed tensions can quickly harden into broader insecurity if not addressed early. In his view, the stakes are heightened in the weeks preceding the presidential election, a period in which public order and civic confidence are traditionally tested.
Richard Ossa’s appeal: Pool elites urged to prioritise peace
The adviser insisted that the resolution of Pool’s difficulties cannot rest on state institutions alone. He argued that the region’s cadres and natives bear a particular duty “before history” to encourage restraint and dialogue, notably by engaging directly with the individuals he identified as former combatants. His call was explicit: those with influence should deploy “all possible manoeuvres” aimed at easing tensions and preventing escalation.
In a strongly worded passage, he urged a broad spectrum of figures—ministers, parliamentarians, diplomats, military personnel, political actors, journalists and jurists—to go into the field and work on public awareness. His message was not limited to formal authority; it encompassed moral leadership and proximity, asserting that mobilisation should not be reserved for political events but should be equally visible when peace is at risk.
Government security measures: a nationwide framework, Pool included
Richard Ossa placed the Mindouli episode within the implementation of security and public-order measures attributed to the Head of State, President Denis Sassou N’Guesso, whose stated objective is to guarantee peace across the entire national territory. Without challenging that framework, the adviser questioned why the same rigour applied elsewhere might be perceived as more difficult to enforce in the Pool department.
His framing underlined a core theme: the government’s approach is presented as uniform, intended to protect citizens and maintain stability, while local actors are encouraged to support its application through mediation and civic engagement. In this perspective, community leadership is not portrayed as an alternative to state action, but as a complementary lever to ensure that security policies translate into durable calm on the ground.
“Zéro Kuluna” praised as a response to urban banditry
Beyond Pool, the adviser also highlighted what he described as encouraging results from the operation “Zéro Kuluna,” presented as a campaign to counter the rise of urban banditry. He reported that the initiative is widely appreciated by the population and that its effects are said to be perceptible across the country.
By linking Mindouli’s concerns to a broader narrative of public security, Richard Ossa implicitly argued for coherence between rural and urban priorities: preventing local flare-ups in departments such as Pool while sustaining efforts against criminality in cities. The thread running through his intervention was the same: order and peace are treated as prerequisites for political life and social stability.
A political calendar that amplifies calls for restraint and cohesion
Ossa’s press conference was marked by a vocabulary of caution, responsibility and civic duty. His concern was that a renewed episode of violence, however limited, could reopen old wounds in a department he described as already battered. His emphasis on outreach and persuasion suggests a preference for de-escalation through local mediation, alongside the continued application of state security measures.
The adviser’s final message was therefore twofold: a reaffirmation of the authorities’ intent to preserve peace nationwide, and a public summons to Pool’s elites to align their influence with that objective. In his reading, the most credible safeguard against a return to instability lies in the convergence of institutional action and community mobilisation.