PRESS BRIEFING BY OUTGOING FORCE COMMANDER, UN MISSION

IN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

Major General Mountaga Diallo, the outgoing Force Commander of the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC), told correspondents at a Headquarters briefing today that he was hopeful that the many opposing factions in that country would find a solution to their problems, adding that the involvement of the international community had allowed for the success of the United Nations Mission there over the past four years.

There were now 10,600 well equipped troops, with the right mandate and rules of engagement on the ground, who were performing well and providing more and more security to the population, permitting the distribution of humanitarian assistance and the restoration of State authority, mainly in the east, he said.  Because of the intervention of the multinational force last June, followed by the deployment of the Ituri brigade, the security situation had improved considerably there, particularly in Ituri.

He said believed the Mission was on the right track, noting that its operations were conducted with resolve and efficiency.  The security situation was progressively improving from Bunia to the whole of Ituri.  Nonetheless, some challenges still remained, such as the need to establish the new and integrated armed forces of the country and the completion of the processes of disarmament, demobilization, reintegration, repatriation and resettlement (DDRRR) and disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR).

Major General Diallo thanked the contributing countries for the troops, police and humanitarian personnel, as well as for the political support not only for MONUC, but also for what he termed “this very interesting and touching” Congolese people, the country and region of Africa.

In reply to correspondents’ questions, he explained that while MONUC was not in every part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo due to the size of the country, it was present in all the most important regions.  It was currently redeploying and concentrating in the east where problems still continued.  In Ituri, a brigade of 4,800 troops was on the ground, while a South African task force, soon to be reinforced with another battalion, was in the Kivus and Manyema.  That battalion would come from Ituri and would be replaced by a Moroccan battalion.

He said he foresaw no major problems in getting the job done in Ituri where the major difficulties were the lack of roads due to the terrain there.  In order to deploy in Ituri, the force had to go back to Uganda and deploy troops through that country.  But elsewhere -- the entire west, the equator and Kavu regions –- the situation was “almost completely peaceful and calm”.  Some problems in northern Katanga continued to be experienced, but the country was coming out of six or seven years of war preceded by many years of instability due to what he called the “chaotic democratization process”.  The forces deployed appeared not to be sufficient, relative to the size of the country, and that was why the available troops were being used judiciously.

Asked whether the Mission’s mandate was adequate to guarantee success particularly in terms of troops numbers, he said he believed the right mandate was in place.  It was not possible in a country like the Democratic Republic of the Congo to have the necessary forces, as this would mean tens of thousands of troops.  Just implementing the arms embargo would require more specialized personnel.

Describing the Mission as a complete success, he said it was a miracle just to have the commanders from the various rebel movements, the former governments and the Mai-Mai in the same government and army.  Because of the high levels of suspicion and mistrust among the various players, it was understandable why many were afraid that the process could be derailed.  The only solution was to monitor the situation very closely by talking to all the concerned groups and assist them in arriving at a solution that was acceptable to all.  He hoped all the groups would see the process through to the end.

He said there could be no comparisons drawn between the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and that in Sierra Leone for several reasons.  Apart from the sheer size of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, many parts of the country had no road infrastructure and thus were inaccessible.  A major difference was also that the conflict in the West African country was between two clearly defined forces:  the government forces and the rebel forces.  But in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, there were the government forces, foreign regular armies on both sides, and the rebel movements.  There were also “uncontrolled” armed groups, including both foreigners and nationals.  It was for those and other reasons, that he considered the Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo a success.

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