Intelligence needed on ‘armed groups’

There was little agreement within the Political Committee overseeing the Lusaka peace process on the scale of the problem in relation to disarmament, demobilisation, reintegration and resettlement of irregular armed groups involved in the DRC conflict, the Holbrooke-led delegation to the DRC reported back to the UN Security Council. A rough, provisional figure of some 15,000 existed but the members of the armed groups - the Lusaka agreement lists Congolese Mayi-Mayi, Rwandan Interahamwe and ex-FAR militias, and the Burundian FDD among others - were hard to identify, and their estimated number ranged from 3,000 to as high as 30,000, the report stated. With the disarmament, demobilisation and resettlement of these groups “absolutely critical to securing a lasting peace in the DRC,” the delegation advised the Security Council that more accurate data had to be collected. The issue should be taken up as a matter of urgency, the mission advised.