UN military officers prepare for deployment

Twenty-one UN military liaison officers (MLOs) are in Nairobi to prepare for immediate deployment to the UN Observer Mission in the DRC (MONUC). According to a press release issued by the UN Regional Humanitarian Advisor's Office in Nairobi, they are to undergo a three-day induction course to acquaint them with the political, military, security, economic, cultural and humanitarian aspects of the MONUC mission. The press release
said the move "represents the initial commitment of UN military personnel to support the implementation of the Lusaka ceasefire agreement and UN Security Council Resolution 1258". The officers, the first of 90 to be deployed in the region, will be based in Kinshasa, Bujumbura, Kampala, Windhoek, Kigali, Harare and Lusaka. "Although small in number, these MLOs will contribute to confidence-building among the parties and represent the vanguard of further UN involvement," the release said.