UN envoy slams deadly attack killing UN peacekeeper, national police officer in DRC

The UN envoy in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Maman Sidikou, on Monday strongly condemned an attack by the Mayi-Mayi militia in the war-torn country's east which resulted in the deaths of a UN peacekeeper and a member of the National Police, as well as the injuries of two peacekeepers, a UN spokesman said here.

Sidikou, UN secretary-general's special representative in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), who also heads the UN Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO), expressed his deepest condolences to the families of the deceased and to the governments of the DRC and South Africa, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here.

"Underlining that attacks against peacekeepers are considered a war crime and that perpetrators will be held accountable, he reaffirmed that this heinous attack will not undermine the commitment and determination of the UN mission to fulfil its mandate," Dujarric said.

Also on the DRC, the UN mission reported that the situation across the country is tense, but remained relatively calm in the capital, Kinshasa, as well as in other urban areas, the spokesman noted.

"It says that there is a high security presence in the capital, and has also received reports of arrests of demonstrators in Goma in the country's east and following up on these reports," he said.

MONUSCO has also increased its numbers of its day and night patrols in the country and has deployed mobile assessment teams in main Congolese cities, he said. The UN peacekeeper and the police officer were killed and five others injured on Monday morning in an attack in the city of Butembo, North Kivu province, reports said.

Butembo in the eastern DRC has faced the rise of a new group of a local militia since last October, which aimed to fight in a community way.

The DRC authorities made several calls for the peaceful dissolution of the militia without success before launching an armed attack against them last month. Enditem