UN voices alarm after fighting erupts in capital of DR Congo

Accra, March 23, GNA - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the Security
Council and the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo (DRC) have condemned Thursday's outbreak of
fighting in the centre of the capital, Kinshasa, between Government
forces and the guards of former Vice-President Jean-Pierre Bemba.
Calling for an immediate halt to the armed clashes, Mr Ban warned
that they posed grave consequences for the country's chances of
obtaining a durable peace after the civil war and threatened the live
of innocent civilians in Kinshasa.
"The UN Organization Mission in the DRC (MONUC) stands ready to
assist the Government in bringing about an end to the current
fighting, to re-establish security in the area, and to work with the
Congolese Government in addressing the underlying issue of appropriate
security for Mr Bemba," according to a statement issued by Mr. Ban's
spokesperson and released in Accra on Friday.MONUC issued its own
statement demanding a return to calm and urging the Government and Mr.
Bemba to resolve any differences peacefully.
The head of the mission, William Lacy Swing, who is also the
Secretary-General's Special Representative to the DRC, has contacted
the two sides to try to find a solution to the crisis.Mr Bemba was
defeated last October by Joseph Kabila in the run-off round of
landmark presidential elections in the DRC, the first such polls in
more than four decades.
MONUC added that it has already deployed extra military resources
to Kinshasa and is ready to take the necessary steps to protect
civilians in the event of further violence.
Mr Dumisani S. Kumalo of South Africa, which holds the rotating
Security Council presidency this month, read out a press statement in
which the 15-member panel deplored the violence and called for an
immediate ceasefire from both sides.
"The members of the Security Council are particularly concerned
about the spill-over of the violence on the civilian population,
including children," Mr. Kumalo said.The DRC is still trying to
recover from the effects of a six-year civil war, widely considered
the most lethal conflict in the world since World War II, which cost 4
million lives.
23 March 07