UN Security Council yesterday severely condemned the incident of
killing of eight Guatemalan peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic
of the Congo (DRC), calling the aggression an "unacceptable
outrage."
In a presidential statement read out by Tanzanian Ambassador
Augustine Mahiga, whose country holds the rotating presidency for
January, the Security Council offered its condolences to the
victims' families and the Guatemalan authorities.
It called on the government of the DRC to immediately take all
necessary measures to bring to justice those responsible for
Monday's attack, and states in the region to deepen their
cooperation in ending the activities of illegal armed groups.
The Security Council reaffirmed that any recourse to the threat
or use of force against a state's territorial integrity was
contrary to the UN Charter.
Meanwhile, it condemned with the utmost firmness the recent
seizure of villages in the area of Rutshuru in North Kivu Province
by insurgent elements, saying all such actions constitutes a threat
to the peace process and to the transition, and demanded that they
cease immediately.
It also stressed the need for unreserved commitment to the
integration process of the armed forces, in the spirit of the
Global and All-Inclusive Agreement.
(Xinhua News Agency January 26, 2006)