DR of Congo: group of Rwandan rebel ex-combatants identified by UN mission

In a move leading up to the process of disarming and reintegrating ex-combatants, the United Nations mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) has screened and identified 56 soldiers from a Rwandan rebel group who were being treated in a hospital.

The UN team established that the majority of the ex-combatants from the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) convalescing in Lumumbashi were between the ages of 22 and 30, and had gunshot wounds, MONUC said.

The operation is part of the preliminary phase of the disarmament, demobilization, repatriation, reinstallation and reintegration (DDRRR) of armed groups, as specified in the Lusaka Ceasefire accords and UN Security Council resolutions.

One such operation was recently completed in Kamina and another one will be conducted in the capital, Kinshasa.