2 UN Observers Found Dead In Eastern Congo

2 UN Observers Found Dead In Eastern Congo
VOA News
19 May 2003, 11:01 UTC

Two United Nations military observers in the Democratic Republic of Congo, reported missing several days ago, have been found dead in the country's troubled Ituri province.

U.N. officials say the bodies of the unidentified observers were discovered in Mongbwalu, about 70 kilometers northwest of Bunia. A statement said the victims had been "savagely killed," but no other details were available.

The two observers had been missing since Wednesday, when fighting flared between rival ethnic Lendu and Hema militias.

The discovery of the bodies came as a French military reconnaissance team prepared to begin assessing the security situation in northeastern Congo, ahead of deployment of a U.N. peacekeeping force there.

Fighting between militias in the Ituri area of the DRC, near the border with Uganda, has killed more than 100 people and displaced tens of thousands of others.

Hema and Lendu militia leaders met Sunday in the town of Bunia for U.N.-sponsored talks on how to implement a peace agreement they signed Friday in Tanzania.

The agreement calls for the two sides to cease hostilities and re-launch the regional peace process begun earlier this year. It also allows for an international peacekeeping force to be stationed in Bunia.


Some information for this report provided by AP and AFP.