DRC students cancel demo

2004-06-07 13:17

Kinshasa - Students in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Monday agreed not to go ahead with new demonstrations against the UN mission in the vast country, accused of inaction last week as dissident soldiers overran a key town in the east.

According to reliable sources in Kinshasa, the students agreed not to stage demonstrations on Monday after negotiations with the transitional government that continued late into the night.

On Monday morning, a student leader explained on UN-backed Radio Okapi that the demonstration had been cancelled to avoid incidents of looting and violence.

Twelve people were killed in two days of demonstrations last week against the UN mission in DRC, Monuc, accused of standing by as rebel soldiers, allegedly backed by Rwanda, overran Bukavu, the capital of Sud-Kivu province in eastern DRC.

In and around Bukavu, at least 88 people are thought to have died over the space of 10 days, despite the presence in the town of UN troops, who are authorised to use force in self-defence and when the lives of civilians are threatened.

On Sunday, two UN peacekeepers from South Africa were killed in an ambush near the eastern city of Goma in which nine of their colleagues were wounded.

But the UN's spokesperson in Goma, capital of Nord-Kivu province, said the ambush did not appear to be linked to the seizure of Bukavu.

According to Monuc, about 100 vehicles were destroyed or damaged during the demonstrations last week, UN equipment looted and the mission's offices torched.

Some Monuc staff were evacuated from Kinshasa on Sunday amid fears of fresh anti-UN violence.

France's ambassador to DRC, George Serre, said in an interview aired on Radio Okapi on Monday that "attacking Monuc is tantamount to attacking the entire international community."

DRC President Joseph Kabila was due to meet with student leaders later on Monday, the radio said.

- AFP