UN calls for restraint, especially in South Kivu

The UN's Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Hedi Annabi on Tuesday urged the UN Security Council to call on the parties to the Lusaka agreement to "refrain from initiating or pursuing offensives, and to do everything possible to prevent outbreaks of violence, especially in South Kivu." He said that the parties should also refrain from "hostile propaganda and bellicose statements," and permit access by humanitarian
organisations to affected populations. Annabi said the particular concern in South Kivu was that the Congolese Tutsi Banyamulenge could trigger "large-scale organised attacks" against Tutsis if it responded to current threats with violent actions against its neighbours.