PRESS STATEMENT ON DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
BY SECURITY COUNCIL PRESIDENT
NEW YORK, 12 November (UN Headquarters) -- Following is the text of the press statement on the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo delivered by Security Council President Ismael Abraão Gaspar Martins (Angola):
The members of the Security Council heard a statement by the Secretariat on the recent violence in Ituri, particularly the exchange of fire, provoked by militiamen of the Union des Patriotes Congolais and other militia, on 5 November 2003, which prompted a United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) response.
They condemned those attacks and expressed their concern at the continuing hostilities in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, particularly in Ituri and in the Kivus.
They also condemned, emphatically, the bloody events of October 2003 in Katchele, in which a number of civilians were reportedly targeted by armed elements, and demanded that those responsible be identified and brought to justice.
They urged all the parties, Congolese and foreign, to ensure respect for human rights and international humanitarian law, to refrain from giving any support to armed groups, and to cooperate with MONUC in the fulfilment of its mandate.
They reaffirmed their full confidence in the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and in MONUC, paying tribute to the dedication of all United Nations staff, particularly those of the Ituri brigade.
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