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Border remains closed

    KINSHASA

    Provincial authorities in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have decided not to reopen immediately their common border with Burundi despite a decision to that effect by the Burundian government.

    "We made the decision to keep our border closed for 48 hours and see how the situation evolves in the region," Didas Kaningini, deputy governor of the DRC's eastern province of South Kivu, said.

    The decision came just one day after Burundi's government decided to re-open its side of the border to facilitate investigations into the massacre earlier this month of 160 Congolese Tutsi refugees, and to restart trade between the two countries.

    On Wednesday, the UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC, known by its French acronym, MONUC, announced that it was working with troops from the UN Operation in Burundi to step up security along both sides of the border.

    The Burundian rebel Forces nationales de liberation (FNL) led by Agathon Rwasa claimed responsibility for the massacre of the refugees. But Burundian and Rwandan officials claim that militias based in the DRC also participated.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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