Second contingent of Moroccan UN blue helmets arrives in eastern DR of Congo
Morocco, Local, 5/11/2001

A 118-strong military contingent from Morocco arrived Thursday in Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to serve as peacekeepers within the United Nations mission in the country, a UN spokesman said.

Spokesman Fred Eckhard told the press at UN Headquarters in New York that Thursday's deployment had brought the total number of troops currently operating within the UN Mission in the DRC (MONUC) to more than 1,300.

They are deployed in Kalemie, Kananga, Mbandaka and Kisangani, in addition to Goma. There are also close to 500 military observers, the spokesman said.

Another 300 Moroccans were deployed in the strategic northern rebel-held town of Kisangani last month. A total of 850 Moroccan blue helmets will be deployed in DRC.

The UN operation is monitoring the implementation of an agreement, signed on July 10, 1999 in Lusaka, Zambia, by the DRC, Angola, Namibia, Rwanda, Uganda and Zimbabwe, and three rebel movements. That accord included provisions on the normalization of the situation along the DRC's border, the control of illicit trafficking of arms and the infiltration of armed groups, the holding of a national dialogue, the need to address security concerns, and the establishment of a mechanism for disarming militias and armed groups.

MONUC's current mandate ends on 15 June 2001.

The spokesman also announced that a delegation from the UN security Council is expected in Kinshasa on May 20.

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