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UN
arms monitors to begin work next week
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Kathmandu,
5 Jan 2007 (IRIN)
The
first batch of United Nations arms monitors are to begin their work in
the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, and the southwestern border city of Nepalganj,
on Monday, Ian Martin, personal representative of the UN Secretary-General,
confirmed on Friday, 12 January 2007.
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As part of the arms management effort, Maoist combatants have been confined
in cantonment sites such as this one in Surkhet, 700 km west of the capital
The
monitors have been given the task of overseeing the disarmament of rebel
Maoist fighters following November's peace deal between the rebels and
the multi-party government.
The
agreement ended ten years of conflict in which more than 14,000 people
were killed, and upwards of 200,000 Nepalese were internally displaced. |
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The
agreement was reached between the UN, Nepal's seven-party government and
Maoist representatives, who will join a transitional government ahead of
planned elections.
Around
13 UN arms monitors have already arrived in Nepal, and are undergoing training
ahead of their work in the capital and Nepalganj (600 km from Kathmandu).
"We
expect further arrivals every few days, and the balance of the 35 already
authorised will undertake training next week, and will be available for
deployment from 15 January," said Martin.
As
part of the disarmament programme, the UN has brought in storage containers,
which are currently being stored in six different sites across the Himalayan
country. The United Nations Development Programme will later begin the
task of registering the weapons, and later, combatants.
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UN monitors will be stationed in Maoist cantonment sites such as this one
in Surkhet district, 700 km west of the capital
Meanwhile,
the Joint Monitoring Coordination Committee (JMCC), comprising representatives
from the Maoist Peoples' Liberation Army (PLA), the Nepal Army (NA),
and the UN, has already agreed to the recruitment of 111 members for the
Interim Task Force (ITF).
As
part of the tripartite agreement, the ITF was created to hire Nepalese
ex-servicemen from the Indian and British armies to enable 24-hour security
at the weapons storage sites. |
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The
ITF - whose activities will be coordinated through the UN and other parties
- will be phased out once the deployment of the UN monitors reaches the
required capacity, said Martin.
The
country's elections are scheduled for June. Martin said that his office
will assist with voter education from next week.
Credit
IRIN 2007
Copyright
© UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2007
[
This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]
Integrated
Regional Information Networks (IRIN), part of the UN Office for the Coordination
of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
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