DRC: 12 000 militiamen disarmed

With the number of former combatants taking part in disarmament programmes almost doubling in the past few weeks, nearly 12,000 ex-fighters have disarmed and the Democratic Republic of the Congo's (DRC) first national brigade incorporating former militiamen has been deployed, an official from the United Nations peacekeeping department said. The more than 11,500 combatants who entered the disarmament and re-integration programme included 3,600 children, François Dureau, chief of the Situation Centre in the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations said.