UN: 26 killed by rebel army in DR Congo

UN: 26 killed by rebel army in DR Congo

2011-07-07 05:05:36 GMT+7 (ICT)

UNITED NATIONS (BNO NEWS) -- The United Nations on Wednesday announced that 26 person were killed in 53 separate attacks by the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) last month.

According to a report of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) released this day, the LRA also kidnapped 21 individuals including 21 children in Orientale province in northeastern DR Congo.

The abducted individuals were used to carry looted items and later released. OCHA remarked that the continued attacks jeopardize humanitarian access and the supply of manufactured goods.

In June, Roger Meece, the Secretary-General's Special Representative and head of the UN peacekeeping force in the DRC (MONUSCO), told the UN Security Council the LRA continued to threaten civilians, using brutal tactics during cross-border movements between the DRC, the Central African Republic (CAR) and South Sudan.

"I believe the only strategy that will significantly reduce or eliminate the LRA as an ongoing threat in the region is one that focuses on the LRA leadership, three of whom are under indictment by the International Criminal Court (ICC)," said Meece.

Also in June, the UN Security Council extended the mandate of the peacekeeping mission in DR Congo (MONUSCO) for a year until June 30, 2012. The mission will help consolidating State authority across the country and reducing the threat from armed groups in North Kivu, South Kivu and Orientale provinces.

MONUSCO has nearly 20,000 uniformed personnel in DR Congo. It includes some 17,000 blue helmets, more than 1,000 police officers and almost 1,000 international civilian staff.

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