DRC: Demobilisation of ex-combatants under way in Ituri
Source: IRIN
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KINSHASA, 6 July 2007 (IRIN) - A programme to disarm and demobilise 4,500 former member of armed groups in the volatile Ituri district in northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has
been launched, a United Nations officials said. Mounoubaye Madnoje, spokesman for the UN Mission in Congo (MONUC), said the demobilisation exercise was launched on 5 July with the establishment of
transit camps to accommodate the former combatants, mainly in the towns of Bunia and Kpandroma. The programme is being implemented by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), with the DRC government,
MONUC and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF). Ex-fighters participating in the programme include former members of the Front Nationaliste et Intégrationniste, led Peter Karim; the Forces de
Résistance Patriotique en Ituri of Cobra Matata; and the Mouvement Révolutionnaire Congolais, headed by Mathieu Ngudjolo. The three groups had remained active, fighting each other and
attacking civilians, despite peace agreements culminating in presidential and parliamentary elections in DRC in 2006. According to François Charlier, UNDP spokesman, the demobilisation
programme will last 15 months. "The rule - one man, one arm - will be rigorously respected except for the children. MONUC and the FARDC [national army] will supervise the disarmament process and
are to guarantee the process's security as a whole. The former fighters are to be disarmed before entering the transit camps," said Charlier. "UNDP estimates that 70 percent of them will
choose civilian life while the rest will join the new integrated FARDC brigades. Those who choose a military career will be transferred to a training camp in Kisangani before being deployed throughout
the country with their new integrated brigade," he added. Ex-combatants who choose to be reintegrated into civilian life will be given US$110 to meet transport costs to their communities. Charlier said that unlike other programmes, the demobilised will this time participate in community development activities, such as the repair of roads, bridges, schools and water-supply facilities
and receive a $2 daily wage. ei/re/jn/mw© IRIN. All rights reserved. More humanitarian news and analysis: http://www.irinnews.org
