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)