Kisangani, 25 May 2011 – The Force Commander of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO), Lieutenant-General Chander Prakash, travelled to Kisangani from Bunia on 25 May to meet with senior military and civilian staff for a briefing on security matters. While there, he also visited a training center of the Congolese Armed Forces (FARDC) in Lukusa, on the right bank of the Congo River. The…
Kisangani, 30 May 2011 -Peacekeepers' Day was celebrated on 30 May in Kisangani. Among the main actitivities were a wreath laying ceremony, a military parade, speeches, free medical consultations, and sport activities. The Day started with the hoisting of the UN flag, a one-minute silence and wreath-laying in memory of peacekeepers who died in service during the course of the year, and then a military parade performed by UN troops deployed in the…
Bukavu, 4 June 2011 – A joint team comprising several sections of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) recently made a security and sociopolitical assessment visit to Nindja, 80 km north of the Sud Kivu provincial capital, Bukavu following the departure of the National Armed Forces (FARDC.) The departure of the FARDC from this area paved the way for an incursion by combined elements of the…
Lubumbashi, 1 June 2011- In an effort to be on par with the rest of the provinces that celebrated Peacekeepers' Day in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Lubumbashi Office of the UN Stabilization Mission in the DR Congo (MONUSCO) in Katanga province, observed this day on 1 June, three days after the traditional date set for the occasion. The event was marked by a flag raising ceremony, followed by a minute silence in memory of peacekeepers who…
Dungu, 2 June 2011 – A 147-kilometer road between the northern towns of Dungu and Faradje in Province Orientale, was inaugurated on 2 June 2011, after 13 months of intense rehabilitation work by Indonesian military engineers of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO). The Dungu-Faradje road is located in the district of Haut-Uele, which borders South Sudan and Uganda. Prior to the rehabilitation of…
Bukavu, 31 May 2011 – With human rights violations being one of the main challenges in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), in collaboration with the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office (UNJHRO), has been supporting the national judicial system in its efforts to end impunity stemming mainly from sexual violence. It is against this backdrop that CIDA funded the purchase of equipment worth US…
Kindu, 29 May 2011 – To kick start the Peacekeepers Day celebrations in Kindu today, a minute silence was observed for those who lost their lives while serving in the Democratic Republic of the Congo during the year. This was followed by the reading of the United Nations Secretary-General's message for the occasion. This year's ceremony attracted not only staff members of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the…
Bukavu, 30 May 2011 – In a quest to improve security in territories with deteriorating human rights violations, the Sud Kivu-based brigade of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) launched a military operation code named "Enduring Peace" between 23 and 28 May 2011. Operation "Enduring Peace" came at the heels of "Akikisha Usalama", another operation, which ended on 21 May. The main…
Kinshasa, 29 May 2011 - In a simple, but emotionally-charged ceremony on 29 May, the Russian Embassy in Kinshasa, unveiled a plaque in remembrance and honor of Major Vacheslev Budarin, died in service while serving as a Military Observer for the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO). The late Major Vacheslav Budarin was deployed in the district of Ituri, in Province Orientale, in November…
Dongo, 25 May 2011 - In the villages of Munzaya and Enyele, with a population totaling 4,000 people, you hear young men marching and singing. A year ago that sound would have been different. Singing would have been followed by an attack by either the Lobaba or Boba populations in Dongo Sector (about 80 km south of Dongo city, in South Ubangi District, Equator province, DRC). However, the situation is different today, as these men no longer march…