SG/SM/9347
                                                                                                                 AFR/961
                                                                                                                 8 June 2004

Secretary-General Deeply Saddened by Deaths of Two UN Peacekeepers in Democratic Republic of Congo

NEW YORK, 7 June (UN Headquarters) -- The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for Secretary-General Kofi Annan:

The Secretary-General is deeply saddened by the tragic deaths of two United Nations peacekeepers near Rutshuru in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo yesterday after their convoy came under fire.  He extends his most sincere condolences to the Government and people of South Africa, and to the families of the bereaved.

The United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) is carrying out a full investigation into the incident, in which at least eleven other MONUC personnel were injured.

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