Kinshasa – The Democratic Republic of Congo army and UN peacekeepers have agreed to resume military cooperation against Rwandan Hutu rebels.
The Congo Defence Minister, Crispin Atama-Tabe and UN Deputy Mission Chief, David Gressly, on Friday signed the agreement t in Kinshasa.
Gressly said the agreement was aimed at beefing up efforts to root out one of the region’s most notorious rebel groups.
He added that “where we jointly agree that there is a common objective, we will work in a coordinated way using whatever assets we determine, collectively make the most sense.’’
He noted that assistance to the group could range from logistical aid to armed support by troops from MONUSCO, as the UN mission was known.
Gressly explained that the UN mission pulled out of a planned joint offensive against the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) a year ago, after the government named two generals the UN suspects of widespread human rights abuses to command it.
The deputy mission said the two sides agreed to establish a formal mechanism to address allegations of human rights abuses by commanders.
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Gressly disclosed that MONUSCO had also put in place a new internal assessment system to reduce the risk of rights violations.
He added that after the government refused to withdraw the generals and launched unilateral operations against the FDLR last February, MONUSCO said it would accept other measures to guard against abuses. (Reuters/NAN)
