|
|
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs |
DRC: Government to send 3,035 police officers to Ituri
KINSHASA, 22 September 2003 (IRIN) - The national unity government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has decided to send 3,035 police officers to Ituri District in the northeast of the country, Vice-President Azarias Ruberwa said at a news conference on Saturday in the capital, Kinshasa.
Ruberwa, leader of the Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie (RCD-Goma) former rebel movement - now party to the Congo's power-sharing government - is responsible for defence and security portfolios in his capacity as one of four vice-presidents of the national transitional government.
"To bring an end to the belief that Bunia is a protectorate [of the UN], the government has decided to send a mixed police force comprising elements of the forces of the former government, RCD-Goma, the MLC [Mouvement de liberation du Congo] - the other main former rebel movement - and the Mayi-Mayi [militias]," he said.
Ruberwa said the mixed force should be in place by December, and would cost about US $3 million. He said that the government had already received assurances from the World Bank and the African Development Bank that financial support would be forthcoming.
He also said that one of his government's top priorities was the creation of a mixed police force, ultimately intended to assume the responsibilities now handled by the UN Mission in the DRC, known as MONUC.
In Kinshasa, MONUC is providing nearly 700 soldiers to help secure the city and the members of the national transitional government, as was demanded by participants in the inter-Congolese dialogue that led to the formation of the power-sharing government. The soldiers, primarily from Ghana and Tunisia, are due to complete their mission in December.
In Bunia, a MONUC force of more than 2,400 troops is operating with a strengthened mandate to use force to protect the civilian population of Ituri District.
The former Kinshasa government had sent some 500 of its police officers to Bunia in May, but MONUC asked that they return to Kinshasa. The 500 officers were unable to stop the massacre of some 350 people, and were accused of having supported certain armed militias operating in the region. A number of the Kinshasa officers were reported missing, believed to have been killed during the massacres.
With regard to participation in the mobilisation of the mixed police force, MONUC said they had not yet been officially approached by the government.
"We do not know to what degree our participation is expected, but we will of course be willing to lend whatever support possible," Hamadoun Toure, MONUC spokesman, told IRIN. "This is a matter for a sovereign government that can make its own decisions."
Meanwhile, Ruberwa, asked about his opinion of his government's first three months in office, said its achievements were "generally positive".
"Very few people have given the government a chance, but everything is working well, and almost without conflict," Ruberwa said. "We have succeeded in creating what a short while ago was only a dream: a united national army under one command, among other things."
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
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
