• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

DRC: More MONUC soldiers arrive in Bunia

NAIROBI, 12 August 2003 (IRIN) - The UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, known as MONUC, continued to boost its strength in the northeastern district of Ituri, with the arrival of 250 Bangladeshi troops in Bunia on Sunday, UN News reported.

The arrival of the latest troops brings the number of Bangladeshi troops in Ituri to about 730, UN News reported.

MONUC troops are scheduled to take over from the EU-led Interim Multinational Emergency Force on 1 September. They are expected to deploy throughout Ituri, unlike the multinational force that is mandated to secure only Bunia, the district's main town.

In May, the UN Security Council authorised the deployment of the interim multinational force to help stabilise Bunia, where militia fighting had resulted in deaths of hundreds and the displacement of thousands of people.

The council adopted on 28 July a resolution giving MONUC a stronger mandate and increasing its authorised strength from 8,700 to 10,800 troops. The council also extended MONUC's mandate until 30 July 2004.

The resolution enabled MONUC to act under Chapter Seven of the UN Charter, which authorises the use of "all necessary means" to fulfil its mandate in Ituri District and North and South Kivu.

Fighting in remote areas of the region has continued, even though a new power-sharing transitional government was installed in July in the capital, Kinshasa, UN News reported.

Themes: (IRIN) Conflict

[ENDS]

The material contained on this Web site comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post any item on this site, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts should include attribution to the original sources. All graphics and Images on this site may not be re-produced without the express permission of the original owner. All materials copyright © UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2003