Dhanis sent one column under Gillain to prevent Rumaliza from retreating, and another under De Wouters to advance on Rumaliza's fort near Bena Kalunga. A group of fresh forces coming to Rumaliza's aid from Tanganyika was headed off, and Dhanis's forces closed in on Rumaliza's two bomas.[25] On 9 January 1894 Belgian reinforcements arrived under Captain Lothaire, and the same day a shell blew up Rumaliza's ammunition store and burned down the fort containing it. Most of the occupants were killed while attempting to escape.