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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Wednesday 2 June 2004

DRC: Ceasefire agreement signed and broken in Bukavu

KINSHASA, 2 Jun 2004 (IRIN) - The ceasefire signed by rival army groups, under the aegis of the Mission of the United Nations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) in the eastern town of Bukavu, was broken on Wednesday morning, MONUC reported.

The accord had been signed by Gen Mbuza Mabe, the commander of the 10th Military Region of the DRC army, who is responsible for Bukavu, and dissidents of the same army who were members of a faction of the former rebel Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie-Goma, led by Gen Laurent Nkunda and Col Jules Mutebuzi.

According to the MONUC chief of staff, Col Clive Mantell, "Nkunda's men broke the ceasefire this morning [at a point] 15 km north of Bukavu, and are marching towards the town, which is under the control of government forces", despite declarations by Nkunda, who says he controls Bukavu.

The ongoing insecurity has prompted 550 civilians to seek refuge within the MONUC headquarters, where they are receiving food and water.

"There is a lot of confusion right now, the insurgents are entering the town, the government troops are fleeing, and the town is being looted," Lucia Alberghini, the representative of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Bukavu, said on Wednesday afternoon.

An emergency task force comprising various UN agencies operating in the sector has been established. Power, which had been cut, has been restored in parts of the city, and hospitals are still operating, according to Alberghini. However, insecurity is impeding the assessment of humanitarian needs, and the progress of the insurgents is preventing the population from gaining access to humanitarian assistance.

Another 10 people have been wounded, bringing to 103 the total number of people wounded since the fighting started a week ago, according to the DRC Red Cross. On Monday, it reported a total of 39 deaths, comprising 18 civilians and 21 soldiers, before the fighting resumed Wednesday morning.

Mutebuzi, the former second-in-command of the 10th Military Region, leads the dissidents. They have been reinforced by troops from Goma, about 100 km northeast of Bukavu, led by Nkunda. Both claim to be defending members of their Banyamulenge ethnic group - Congolese of Tutsi origin - who, they say, have been the target of violence. They estimate that more than 2,000 Banyamulenge have crossed the border to seek refuge in Rwanda since the fighting first flared up.

The ceasefire, which has now been broken, was agreed on to allow for an international investigation into the alleged abuses suffered by the Banyamulenge people.

In a statement released in the capital, Kinshasa, the command of the DRC army gave assurances that the Banyamulenge were guaranteed army protection on an equal footing with all other ethnic groups in the DRC.

[ENDS]

This material 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 this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts should include attribution to the original sources. All materials copyright © UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2004