By Prensa Latina
United Nations : The UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo cooperates with the authorities of Kinshasa in the efforts to persuade rebel groups to give up their weapons, it was reported Friday.
Started on January 1st, this campaign wants to sensitize the rebel groups operating in the provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu and call them for surrender, to complete the peace process in this African country.
The increase of the confrontations in both provinces has provoked a critical humanitarian situation, since hundreds of thousands of civilians have been forced to leave their homes.
The battles between the government forces and the rebel group led by dissident Laurent Nkunda provoked concern in the UN and Secretary General Ban Ki Moon denounced the high suffering caused to the population last month.
The UN mission in Democratic Congo supports the government of President Joseph Kabila in his efforts to reach the fighters still operating in both provinces, said spokeswoman Michele Montas Friday.
Montas said the UN Mission”s Department for Disarming, Demobilization, Repatriation, Relocation and Reintegration would use its radio and pamphlet media to encourage the rebels to give up themselves and go back to their homes.
“Our role is to support the government, with all the experience and means at our disposal,” said Ndiaga Diagne, representative of the UN Mission in the city of Goma.
Diagne added UN has helped for the contacts between the representatives of the government and the Liberation Democratic Forces of Rwanda and he said that 8,000 foreign fighters are still in the provinces of North and South Kivu.
Last year, 13,900 Congolese fighters were disarmed and many of them are getting ready to join the national army, while 800 foreign soldiers received help to go back to their respective countries.
At the end of December, the UN Security Council approved the extension of the UN Mission mandate up to December 2008.