UN
United Nations Peacekeeping
3 Mar
2009
MONUC hails the setting up of a board of enquiry to probe into last Sunday's events in Kinshasa
The United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo welcomes the putting in place of a board of enquiry tasked to bring out the truth about the events of the 28th in Kinshasa, declared MONUC spokesman, Hamadoun Toure, during the UN mission's weekly news conference.
The Spokesman indicated that MONUC took an active role by patrolling the city of Kinshasa in order to prevent rioting. Providing details about MONUC's participation in securing the city of Kinshasa, the military spokesman, commander Abou Thiam, explained that the MONUC Neutral Force reinforced its patrols in some key areas of the city, in order to prevent rioting and looting. Patrols were intensified between Ndjili airport and the town centre, as well as in other districts in the capital, he indicated.
MONUC has attained its goal with respect to the repatriation of 10,000 Rwandan, Ugandan and Burundian ex-combatants by April 30, 2004. The head of MONUC DDRRR division, Peter Swarbrick, told the press on 31 March that 10,468 ex-combatants, including their dependents, had left the DRC. The number includes 6,768 Rwandans, 507 Ugandans and 3,700 Burundians. Mr. Swarbrick said there are between 8 and 10,000 ex-combatants left in the DRC, the majority of which consist of Rwandan elements. He recalled that Rwanda and DRC governments pledged in November 2003 to settle the issue relating to the presence of Rwandan ex-combatants within 12 months.
On the same occasion, the head of MONUC Humanitarian Affairs division, Mrs. Nancy Bright, announced the launching by MONUC, next 2 April, of a medical barge along the river, with a view to ''make an assessment of the sanitary situation of the people dwelling along the river who live in precarious conditions and have no access to basic health care''. The mission, she added, was to identify the health problems in the zones situated along the river, more particularly Ingende, Wema, Bokungu, Mondombe, Kwamouth and Yumbi. The team, comprised of representatives of MONUC, World Health Organization (WHO), Ministry of Health, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and catholic NGO Caritas will bring in a humanitarian relief estimated at four tons of medicine and various items donated by the WHO, UNICEF and OCHA.
MONUC has attained its goal with respect to the repatriation of 10,000 Rwandan, Ugandan and Burundian ex-combatants by April 30, 2004. The head of MONUC DDRRR division, Peter Swarbrick, told the press on 31 March that 10,468 ex-combatants, including their dependents, had left the DRC. The number includes 6,768 Rwandans, 507 Ugandans and 3,700 Burundians. Mr. Swarbrick said there are between 8 and 10,000 ex-combatants left in the DRC, the majority of which consist of Rwandan elements. He recalled that Rwanda and DRC governments pledged in November 2003 to settle the issue relating to the presence of Rwandan ex-combatants within 12 months.
On the same occasion, the head of MONUC Humanitarian Affairs division, Mrs. Nancy Bright, announced the launching by MONUC, next 2 April, of a medical barge along the river, with a view to ''make an assessment of the sanitary situation of the people dwelling along the river who live in precarious conditions and have no access to basic health care''. The mission, she added, was to identify the health problems in the zones situated along the river, more particularly Ingende, Wema, Bokungu, Mondombe, Kwamouth and Yumbi. The team, comprised of representatives of MONUC, World Health Organization (WHO), Ministry of Health, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and catholic NGO Caritas will bring in a humanitarian relief estimated at four tons of medicine and various items donated by the WHO, UNICEF and OCHA.
