Commercial traffic on Congo River set to resume, UN says

The United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) today announced the resumption of commercial traffic along the Congo River for the first time since war broke out in the country in August 1998, and said the move would help boost the local economy.

Two commercial barges will leave Kinshasa next week for towns in the northern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), MONUC spokesman Hamadoun Touré told the press in the Congolese capital. The renewed movement of these industrial boats, which specialize in the lumber trade, would help aid economic revival in the region, he added.

"In accordance with the agreement signed in April between the parties for the reopening of the Congo River to commercial and civil traffic, MONUC must escort these convoys to ensure their security," Mr. Touré noted.