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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

DRC: Seven Uruguayan UN troops under investigation for theft

NAIROBI, 12 September 2003 (IRIN) - Seven Uruguayan soldiers of the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) are under investigation for allegedly stealing sacred objects from a church in Bunia, the main town in the eastern district of Ituri, UN spokesman Fred Eckard said Thursday in New York.

Quoting the UN's Department of Peacekeeping Operations, he said the objects, among them a chalice, were found in the men's camp following the allegation of theft from the church earlier in the week.

He said the soldiers would be transferred to Kinshasa, the Congolese capital, and could be repatriated to Uruguay for disciplinary action by their military authorities if the allegations against them were true.

UN News said that the reports by the Board of Inquiry and the Military Police would be concluded soon.

The Uruguayans are among 2,500 MONUC troops from Bangladesh, Indonesia and India deployed to Bunia. There are also 280 Pakistanis and 800 more of them expected next week. MONUC troops are patrolling Bunia's streets and carrying out weapons searches in homes with the intent to clean it of weapons.

Theme(s): (IRIN) Conflict

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