Kabila rejects deployment of SA special troops

Although DRC President Laurent-Desire Kabila had agreed to the deployment of UN peacekeepers in Mbandaka, Kananga and Kisangani, he has rejected the deployment of South African specialised forces, which could delay the UN mission’s overall deployment. The UN Secretary-General’s special envoy to DRC, General Abdulsalami Abubakar of Nigeria said after briefing the UN Security Council on Wednesday, that the deployment might be delayed until the UN had found specialised units from other countries. The units were required for logistical tasks such as cargo handling, air traffic control and rescue services. General Abubakar said that since Kabila had agreed to certain conditions for the deployment of MONUC, “it was now a matter of waiting for outstanding issues to be sorted out”. The Lusaka agreement of July 1999 provided for a cessation of hostilities and also set out the structure of a Joint Military Commission (JMC) to ensure its implementation. The Security Council formally established the UN mission last November, authorising the deployment of 5,537 personnel, including 500 military observers. To date, however, only 264 military observers have been deployed.