DR of Congo: UN mission denounces reported flight of banned ammunition

The United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has strongly denounced the reported transport of a cache of ammunition seized on a plane that landed in Beni and said it has launched a thorough investigation into the origins of the flight, the material and the intended destination.

The UN Mission said the act violated Security Council resolution 1484, which bans all military assistance to armed groups in the DRC, which has been riven by civil war and fighting between rival militias.

The plane, carrying many boxes of ammunition and seven military and two civilian passengers, was reportedly travelling from Aru to Mangbwalu. It was diverted to Beni due to bad weather conditions. The plane was handed over to the UN by the Congolese Rally for Democracy – Kisangani/Liberation Movement (RCD-K/ML) on 20 July.