Civilian protection is top priority in DR Congo, UN

New York, 13 Nov-(ANA)-The top priority for the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is the protection of civilians from abuse, be it from the Government forces that it is mandated to support or armed rebel groups,

a senior official has said.

UN Humanitarian Coordinator Ross Mountain told a news briefing in New York that the UN mission in the DRC, known as MONUC is moving up from 17,000 uniformed personnel to 20,000 to help bring security to a country of 2.4 million square kilometres.

The issue of  abuse has been raised several times recently, and earlier this

month Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Alain Le Roy called

for a probe into the targeted killing of dozens of civilians in the DRC’s

strife-torn east by military elements.

In October the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, Philip Alston,

accused DRC troops of killing, raping or mutilating scores of civilians this

year in what he called “catastrophic” joint military operations with UN

peacekeepers to weed out mainly Rwandan Hutu rebels in the eastern Kivu

provinces. (ANA)

FA/ANA/13 November 2009---