African Union Calls for Immediate Ceasefire in DR Congo

The African Union Peace and Security Council (PSC) called on fighting parties in DR Congo to cease hostilities immediately in order to avoid further instability in the country. The call was made after the AU Peace and Security Council (PSC) convened an urgent meeting on the situation in DRC late Friday in Addis Ababa.

The AU Commissioner for Peace and Security Ramtan Lamamra attended the meeting which was chaired by the current PSC chairman, Tunisian Ambassador Hatem Atallah.

“The Council strongly condemns the resumption of hostilities initiated by the General Nkunda-led CNDP, which is a violation of the Actes d’engagement signed by the parties to the peace process in the Kivus,” the AU said.

Commissioner Lamamra told journalists after hours of closed session that the Council is concerned by the current situation in the DRC and the displacement of thousands of people due to the conflict there.

The AU PSC called on the opposition party, lead by General Nukunda, to resume without delay, its participation in the Amani program (Actes d’engagement).

The Council urged countries of the region to continue to support the peace and national reconciliation process in the DRC, and to speed up the implementation of the Security, Stability and Development Pact in the Great Lakes region agreed upon in Nairobi, on 15 December 2006.

The Council also condemned the attack carried out against the UN peacekeepers in the DR Congo (MONUC) and expressed its full support to the UN mission in the country.

Source African Press Agency

Net News Publisher