UN mission's partner organization starts aid convoy in eastern DR Congo

A convoy carrying food and other assistance is rolling along the road from Bukavu to Mwenga in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) distributing needed items to families, the United Nations mission in the country (MONUC) reported today.

The operation by a MONUC partner, the CARITAS social service agency, started yesterday and is expected to last for several weeks. It will serve 5,500 families, MONUC said, mainly internally displaced persons (IDPs) who fled their homes during an attack by Interahamwe militia about two months ago.

Meanwhile, MONUC spokesman Hamadoun Toure said the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and MONUC chief William Lacy Swing would go to UN headquarters in New York and to Washington, DC, to take part in meetings on the DRC's transition to an elected government.

Mr. Swing plans to meet representatives of the over 50 countries which contribute troops and police to MONUC. He will also attend a high-level meeting of developed countries on the formation of a unified army and integrated police force in each of several African countries, Mr. Toure said.

In Washington, the MONUC chief is slated to update United States Congressmen on the situation in DRC and the Mission's work, and to meet representatives of humanitarian and human rights non-governmental organizations (NGOs).