Statement [made on behalf of the Security Council, at the 5133rd meeting, 2 Mar. 2005, in connection with the Council's consideration of the item entitled "The situation concerning the Democratic Republic of the Congo"]

Condemns with the utmost firmness the attack against a patrol of the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) by the Front des Nationalistes et Intégrationnistes in Ituri (FNI) on 25 Feb. 2005, resulting in the murder of 9 Bangladeshi peacekeepers; calls upon the Government of National Unity and Transition immediately to take all necessary measures to bring to justice the perpetrators, sponsors and authors of this attack and to strengthen its support for the implementation of the disarmament and community reintegration programme for Ituri militiamen; reminds all States in the region of their responsibility to ensure compliance for the arms embargo imposed by resolution 1493 (2003); further urges those States to ensure that their territories cannot be used by any Congolese armed group, notably the Ituri militia, whose activities perpetuate a climate of insecurity that affects the whole region; reaffirms its full support for MONUC, and urges MONUC to continue to fulfil its mandate with determination.

2 p.