UN CHIEF DEPLORES LATEST TERRORISTATTACK IN IRAQUnited Nations Secretary-General BanKi-moon

UN CHIEF DEPLORES LATEST TERRORISTATTACK IN IRAQUnited Nations Secretary-General BanKi-moon today strongly condemned the heinous bombattack in northern Iraq which killed scores of people andwounded more than 90 civilians in a crowed restaurantyesterday.The suicide bomber struck a popular restaurantin an the ethnically mixed area 25 miles from the city ofKirkuk while hundreds of families were celebrating the lastday of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha. No cause canjustify such inhumane and indiscriminate violence, according to a statement issued Rosetta Stone outlet by Mr. Bansspokesperson.According to media reports, the blast killed55 people while the restaurant was packed with lunchtimediners, including children, and local Kurdish and Arableaders who were trying to settle their differencesconcerning the oil-rich area. This terrorist attack wasparticularly troubling because it targeted a meeting topromote dialogue and reconciliation between differentcommunities in the region, the statement added.Mr. Bancalled on the Iraqi people and their leaders not to bedeterred by such acts of provocation and to continue to worktogether in a spirit of national reconciliation in order toensure a peaceful atmosphere for the holding of nextmonths provincial elections. UN OBSERVERFORCE IN GOLAN HEIGHTS EXTENDED FOR ANOTHER SIX MONTHSTheSecurity Council today extended the United Nations forceobserving the ceasefire between Israel and Syria on theGolan Heights for a further six months, until 30 June2009.The 15-member body voted unanimously to renew themandate of the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF),which was established in May 1974, as recommended bySecretary-General Ban Ki-moon in his latest report on themission. The situation in the Israel-Syria sector hasremained generally quiet, he wrote. Nevertheless, thesituation in the Middle East is tense and is likely toremain so, unless and until a comprehensive settlementcovering all aspects of the Middle East problem can bereached. Under the prevailing circumstances, heconsidered the continued presence of UNDOF in the area to be essential. The Secretary-General also drew attentionto $23.7 Rosetta Stone Spanish Spain million shortfall in the funding of the Force, asat 30 September. In addition, as at 31 October, $2.4 millionwas owed to the troop contributors to UNDOF. Theoutstanding contributions impede the ability of theSecretariat to support the operations of the Force and toreimburse Member States contributing troops to the Force, noted Mr. Ban. DR CONGO: CONCERN FOR DISPLACEDGROWS AS GIRLS SHOT, WOMAN RAPED NEAR UN CAMPArmedmilitia this morning shot two young girls who were shelteredat a United Nations camp in the conflict-ridden easternDemocratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), from which theOrganizations refugee agency has been relocatingthousands of displaced people due to concerns for theirsafety.The five-year-old girl died instantly and theseven-year-old was left critically injured and is fightingfor her life in a local hospital.A woman was also rapedby armed men close to the camp in Kibati, north of Goma, theday before the shooting, according to the UN HighCommissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).Expressing extremeconcern for the safety of the Congolese civilians in theirtwo camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Kibati,UNHCR have started to voluntarily transfer IDPs to a newcamp west of Goma, the capital of North Kivu.Fightingbetween Government forces (FARDC) and rebel troops (CNDP)led by renegade general Laurent Nkunda in North Kivuintensified at the end of 2006, forcing more than 800,000people to flee the violence.In August the conflict flaredup again displacing some 250,000 civilians, many of whomwere already uprooted from their homes. Other armed groups,including the Mayi Mayi, have also been involved in deadlyclashes, some of which have been along ethnic lines. Wehave so far moved 616 families, or 1,780 IDPs, to sites inthe Mugunga area, UNHCR spokesperson Ron Redmond toldreporters in Geneva today. The number of persons atKibati willing to relocate to the new Mugunga III appears tobe increasing as the first two convoys scheduled for thismorning will take over 400 displaced persons, headded.Despite the obvious risks, many of the IDPs inKibati camps are reluctant to move because they mostly comefrom villages north of Goma and the former makeshift Kibumbasite, which had sheltered some 25,000 people. The relativecalm of recent weeks has also convinced many to stay asclose to the area as possible.UNHCR reported thattransfers to the newly expanded Mugunga III camp, which cannow accommodate some 60,000 people, have involved familiesin the most urgent need of assistance who had previouslybeen packed into six portable warehouses that each held1,500 individuals.On arrival in Mugunga III, the familiesare handed their luggage, plastic sheeting, sticks forconstructing huts and are allocated a plot of land to buildshelter. According to the agency, two 24-hour waterreservoirs have been completed in time to meet the needs ofthe initial 6,000 people arriving at the site.A healthcentre and police post been set up in the Mugunga III camp,and a total of 250 latrines have also been built, while 750more will have been constructed by the end of theweek. Meanwhile, we continue to bring in additional aidfor the displaced population in North Kivu province, Mr.Redmond said, adding some 2,500 kitchen sets, 23,100blankets and 1,364 rolls of plastic sheeting arrived fromthe UNHCR emergency stockpile in Ngara, Tanzania, thisweek. In related news, an investigation into thealleged massacre of civilians in the town of Kiwanja inNorth Kivu is being conducted by the human rights arm of theUN peacekeeping mission the DRC, known as MONUC, aspokesperson for the world body told reporterstoday.MONUC is compiling evidence as well as collectingtestimony from hundreds of individuals who witnessed theviolent clashes between the Rosetta Stone Spanish V3 CNDP rebels and pro-governmentPARECO/Mayi Mayi militia in early November and expects tocomplete the probe in a few weeks.Along with bluehelmets, MONUC has also dispatched mobile multidisciplinaryteams including human rights, civil affairs and childprotection officers to Kiwanja. They have been in placefor most of the past four weeks, facilitating relationsbetween MONUC military personnel and the civilianpopulation