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MONUC is satisfied with the increasing number of surrender of militiamen in Ituri

MONUC

21 mar. 05 - 08.54h

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During the past week, the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) has noted that a growing and significant number of militiamen in the Ituri district, in the country?s north-east, presented themselves spontaneously to UN peacekeepers in order to hand in their weapons and enter the Disarmament and Community-based Reintegration (DCR) process.

In Ituri's Aru region, 400 fighters from the militia known as the Armed Forces of the Congolese People (FAPC) handed in their arms at the transit centre on Sunday 20 March. 310 individual weapons and twenty group-operated weapons were collected. This Monday 21 March, 2005, 100 additional combatants were disarmed, bringing to 500 the total number of FAPC combatants disarmed for the last two days. The estimated number of FAPC combatants willing to take part in the DCR process in Aru is at about 2,000.

In addition, today - Monday 21 March - UN peacekeepers disarmed 50 militiamen belonging to the National Integrationist Front (FNI) in the village of Kodikoka, situated 15 kilometers northwest of the town of Mahagi.

The growing number of militia members giving in their weapons and joining the reintegration process indicates that the recent political and military efforts in the district are staring to bear fruit.

The latest arms hand-over come in the wake of recent MONUC military operations, as well as repeated calls aimed at encouraging armed groups to give in their weapons.

However the recent developments in Ituri constitute the first promising steps of a process which is expected to be long and difficult.

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