On Wednesday, the UN announced that 332 Congolese police officers are being sent to Eastern Congo in order to support Congolese military operations there. Sixty of these police officers will be deployed with the goal of ensuring the safety of approximately 1,200 people who have been constructing a road between the town of Sake and Masisi in Eastern Congo. The construction was halted in late August 2008 due to violence between the National Congres for the Defence of the People (CNDP) and Congolese national troops (FARDC).
The UN Security Council has called for a the UN mission in the Congo, MONUC, to focus on bringing stability to the eastern provinces of the Congo. The UN Special Representative of the Secretary of the Secretary-General stated that although the situation in Eastern Congo has experienced some improvements, “there is still much to be done, particularly in areas of humanitarian action.” In recent months, more than 250,000 civilians have been displaced by militia violence, adding to the 800,000 that were displaced in earlier fighting.
In further attempts to quell the violence, MONUC has overseen the repatriation of approximately 1,380 Rwandans associated with militias and the separation of 900 children from these armed groups. However, there are still concerns over attacks perpetrated by the Ugandan rebel militia, the Lord’s Resistance Army.
For more information please click here.