Voluntary disarmament continues in DR Congo as run-off election preparations speed up

Another 34 militia members have surrendered themselves and their weapons over the past week in the strife-torn Ituri district in north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to the United Nations mission in the vast Central African country.

The latest figures bring the total number of combatants to have surrendered in Ituri since the start of June to over 4,800, the mission, known by its French acronym MONUC, said. About 2,400 weapons and more than 350,000 units of ammunition were also handed over during the same period.

The resource-rich Ituri district has been scene some of the worst fighting and atrocities during the DRC’s recent war, with numerous armed groups operating there or in nearby areas.

The latest disarmament figures come weeks after the DRC held its first free and fair elections in 45 years, when millions of Congolese cast ballots for a president and members of the 500-seat National Assembly.

President Joseph Kabila and Vice-President Jean-Pierre Bemba will compete in a run-off election on 29 October after the two men attained the highest number of votes in the first round in July. Provincial parliamentary elections will also be held on the same date next month.

Preparations for next month’s poll have gathered pace, MONUC reported, with ballot papers being printed in South Africa and the UN helping to disseminate electoral kits across the DRC.