E. Democratic Republic of the Congo

41. The armed conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is continuing despite a number of attempts to negotiate peace and despite the ceasefire agreement of 10 July 1999 (S/1999/815, annex). The struggle is continuing in various parts of the country, mainly in the regions of North and South Kivu and in the south-eastern region. A meeting convened on 13 August 2000 in Lusaka in support of the ceasefire resulted in failure. Armies opposing the Government of President Laurent Désiré Kabila, such as the Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD) and the Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC), are supported by troops from Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe.

42. In this connection, the presence of mercenary combatants recruited by military security companies has been reported. The primary interest of the mercenaries continues to be focused on the Mbuji-Mayi region, the diamond capital of the province of West Kasai. According to information received by the Special Rapporteur military security companies and air cargo companies registered in the State of Nevada (United States of America), in the Channel Islands and especially in the province of Gauteng (South Africa) and in Zimbabwe are engaged in the transport of troops, arms, munitions and diamonds. It is also reported that some of these companies participated in aerial bombardment operations. For this purpose they use Ukrainian mercenaries, pilots and air crews, among others, MIG-21 jet fighters, An-26 and An-12 Antonov transport planes and Mil Mi-24 helicopter gunships. Recently an An-12 belonging to one of these companies and loaded with explosives crashed on take-off.

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