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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

DRC: US gives $250,000 to support Ituri interim administration

KINSHASA, 10 July 2003 (IRIN) - The US government has contributed US $250,000 to support the interim administration in the troubled northeastern Ituri District of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the UN Mission in the country, known as MONUC, announced on Thursday.

MONUC said it welcomed this contribution, saying it was "likely to speed up the installation of the interim administration", created in May by the Ituri Pacification Commission (IPC).

The UN mission said it also welcomed efforts towards consolidating the authority of the interim administration, and said it encouraged other international partners to lend their financial and logistical support.

The IPC, composed of representatives from various ethnic groups and civil society organisations in Ituri District, began its work in April as part of efforts to bring an end to fighting between ethnic militias. However, fighting intensified in May in Bunia, the district's main city, resulting in at least 300 dead and tens of thousands displaced.

The interim administration has until recently experienced great difficulty in beginning its operations due to instability. At one point, members had to seek refuge in the MONUC compound following threats made by Thomas Lubanga's Union des patriotes congolais militia, which has attempted to impose a parallel administrative authority in Bunia.

The arrival of a temporary peace enforcement mission in June to bolster MONUC's efforts has allowed a semblance of normality to return to the town.

Fighting in the region since 1999 has resulted in an estimated 50,000 deaths and 500,000 displaced, according to humanitarian agencies.

Theme(s): (IRIN) Conflict, (IRIN) Governance

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