UN coordinates demining in southern DR Congo after anti-tank devices found

The United Nations and its partners are clearing a road in Katanga province in the south of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) after two anti-tank mines were discovered on a key route, the UN peacekeeping mission in the country said today.

Led by the UN Mine Action Coordination Centre (MACC), the operation focuses on demining eight kilometres of the road linking the towns of Kabalo and Katutu, which was shut down in December after local residents came upon the explosives.

The non-governmental organization (NGO) Danish Church Aid and the South African mine clearance company Mechem are part of the joint effort.

Meanwhile, the peacekeeping mission – known as MONUC – reports that 25 former Rwandan rebel troops and their 13 dependents were repatriated to Rwanda in February, as part of the renewed drive to disarm and reintegrate members of armed groups spurred by the Nairobi agreement reached between Rwanda and the DRC in November last year.