United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Kinshasa)
11 March 2009
press release
The United Nations and the Congolese Government have decided to fast-track the implementation of the Stabilization plan for eastern DRC, with the deployment of 332 Congolese police officers in North Kivu. The Stabilization plan was initially developed by the United Nations, following the Goma Conference in early 2008 and later consolidated by the DRC Government, and is jointly implemented by both United Nations and DRC officials.
The plan has made progress in recent weeks in North Kivu with the deployment of DRC National Police to help restore the Rule of Law. About 332 Congolese police officers from the Kapalata training centre in Kisangani are being deployed, with the support of MONUC police and the United Nations Office for Projects Support (UNOPS).
Since 21 February 2009, 120 Congolese police officers have been deployed on the Rutshuru-Ishasha road north of Goma. 60 police officers have been sent to Rutshuru centre (60 km from Goma), and 30 to both Kinyiandoni and Nyamilima. The Sake-Masisi road has been identified as a priority, and 60 PNC officers were deployed at Sake last week.
Work on the Sake-Masisi road started in 2008 and for several months, these works helped provide employment for more than 1,200 people living along the road. However the works were suspended late August 2008, due to fighting between the National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP) and the Congolese army.
The deployment of some 60 PNC offciers to Masisi is expected in the near future, together with 30 officers to both Matanda and Kibati respectively. 30 additional PNC officers are expected to be deployed to Bunagana, a town east of Goma near the Uganda and Rwanda border.
On Wednesday 25 February 2009, General Moussa Sanogo, the UN Police Controller General in charge of coordinating the police component of the Stabilization Plan for Eastern DRC, was accompanied by a representative of the Congolese National Police Inspector and a representative of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) on a mission to evaluate the deployment of the PNC on the Rutshuru-Ishasha axis.
The delegation visited three units deployed on projected sites for the police commissioner's office for Rutshuru centre, and two sites for sub-commissioner's offices in Kinyandoni and Nyamilima.
The General reported that morale was high among the freshly deployed PNC units despite their limited facilities, as office and lodging facilities are pending construction.
The team also visited Nyamilima, Kinyandoni and Rutshuru, where the General and the National Police Inspector's representative listened to the concerns of newly deployed PNC officers.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
