All the warring parties in the DRC have reiterated their commitment to respect the Lusaka ceasefire agreement, news agencies reported on Wednesday. “There were oral assurances on all sides of their strong determination to cooperate,” Reuters quoted UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Bernard Miyet as saying in Kampala. He was speaking at the end of a regional tour to pave the way for the deployment of some 5,500 UN military observers and troops under phase II of the UN Observer Mission in the DRC (MONUC). “We have to see on a daily basis if these commitments are translated into cooperation on the ground,” he said, after meeting with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni. Earlier, he said in Kigali that 500 military observers in the force would be stationed in about 100 different locations in the DRC, Rwandan radio reported. Miyet was quoted as saying that UN infantry battalions composed of some 850 troops were expected to be deployed in four different locations to each ensure supplies and support to observers in a radius of about 200-300 km.
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