A recent operation in which UN peacekeepers in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) killed 50 militiamen was "an attempt to defend themselves and a determination to fulfil their mandate as effectively as they can," UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Thursday.

An assessment by the UN World Health Organisation (WHO) has shown that future outbreaks of plague, associated with a diamond mine in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, are likely, the agency reported on Thursday.

Soldiers of the integrated Congolese national army began their crackdown on militiamen in the northeastern district of Ituri on Tuesday when they deployed to the territory of Aru, 300 km north of Bunia town, a military official told IRIN.

Looting, stealing and burning of villages in North Kivu, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, was carried out by armed militias and by members of the newly integrated national army. This was the result of a special inquiry of the UN Mission in the DRC, or MONUC, which was published on 24 February.

At least 50 militiamen were killed during fighting between Pakistani UN troops and elements suspected to have killed nine UN peacekeepers on 25 February, Gen Jean-Francois Collot d'Escuries, the chief of staff of the UN peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of Congo, known as MONUC, told IRIN.

Several leaders of the militia group that is accused of having executed nine Bangladeshi UN peacekeepers on Friday in Kafe village, in the Democratic Republic of Congo's northeastern Ituri District, have been arrested, Justice Minister Kisimba Ngoy told IRIN on Wednesday.

The delegation of the European Commission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) suspended two projects in the province of North Kivu on Wednesday, following the looting of installations of the NGO German Agro Action by militiamen in Nyabondo Territory.

As Zambia prepares to repatriate the last of the Angolan refugees on its soil by the end of 2005, the fate of thousands of Congolese refugees, sheltered in camps throughout the country, remains unclear.

The first brigade of the integrated Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) began military operations on Monday, cracking down on armed groups in the northeastern district of Ituri, Defence Minister Adolphe Onusumba told IRIN.

Several NGOs operating in Ituri, in the Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) Orientale Province, have suspended aid to thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) following Friday's killing of nine UN peacekeepers, the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported on Monday.