More UN troops deployed in Kalemie

The second half of a contingent of UN troops from Uruguay arrived in the eastern DRC town of Goma on Monday and most are being deployed further south in Kalemie, according to a press statement from the UN Mission in DRC, MONUC. The troops will serve as the Guard Unit for the MONUC Sector Headquarters in Kalemie, but a small number will remain in Goma until all the contingent’s equipment is transported to Kalemie. On Tuesday, a second UN Guard Unit from Senegal was expected to arrive in Kananga, Kasai Occidental province, the press release stated. It noted this would be the first Guard Unit to be deployed in government-held territory. The second half of the Kananga unit is due to arrive on 6 April - 260 troops in all. The statement recalled that the function of these units is to guard UN facilities, equipment and supplies, enhancing the ability of MONUC military observer teams to carry out their tasks of monitoring and verifying the disengagement of parties involved in the conflict. Another Senegalese Guard Unit comprising some 280 troops will be deployed next month to the MONUC Sector Headquarters in Mbandaka, Equateur province.