Red Cross staff killed in DRC

2003-05-16 14:40

Geneva - Two volunteers belonging to the Democratic Republic of Congo Red Cross have been killed in the northeast of the country, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) announced in Geneva on Friday.

The ICRC said in a statement that the two men died last Sunday in fighting at Bunia in the Ituri region where intercommunal violence has erupted.

It called for the Red Cross symbol to be respected, saying that the two volunteers "who were wearing armbands clearly identifying them died during the performance of their humanitarian mission."

Six ICRC staff were murdered in the same region in April 2001.

The committee called on all parties to the conflict "to make at all times a distinction between the civilian population and those taking a direct part in the hostilities, as well as between civilian property and military objectives."

"Humanitarian workers and health personnel and material, in particular those wearing the emblem of the Red Cross, should be respected," the statement said.

The leaderships of the parties to the conflict should ensure that "their men respect discipline, so that their behaviour conforms to the requirements of international humanitarian law," the statement said.

The United Nations has said it is deeply worried by the politically and ethnically inspired killings in Bunia and in the Ituri region and fears they may spiral out of control. Since 1999, clashes have left 50 000 dead and 500 000 people have left their homes.

The armed wing of the Union of Congolese Patriots - rebels with close ties to Rwanda and mostly member of the minority Hema ethnic group - recently won back control of Bunia after being evicted from it in March by the Ugandan army.

The fighting involves the UPOC rebels and members of the Lendu ethnic group, in a majority in the Ituri region.

- AFX