U.N. says Kabila's government obstructing observer missions in Congo

KINSHASA (Reuters) -- The U.N military observer mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo said Wednesday that the government is still hindering its movements despite agreeing not to do so.

U.N. military spokesman Colonel Regis Barman said the world body's planes were still regularly blocked by President Laurent Kabila's government even though Kinshasa said in August that observers could deploy throughout the vast country.

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Barman said the government had waived the need for U.N. flights to have individual authorization at the same time as it gave permission for the force to deploy across the country.

But he said the United Nations had been denied access to the northwestern city of Mbandaka, on the Congo river, since August 8. The three-man observer team in Mbandaka, which has not been resupplied since then, is also not allowed access to the airport or the port, Barman added.

The Security Council approved the deployment of 500 military observers and 5,000 troops to protect them in February, but their deployment has been delayed due to ongoing cease-fire violations and the Congolese government's refusal to grant the U.N. full freedom of movement.

The war in the Congo pits Kabila's forces against Tutsi-led rebels backed by Rwanda and Uganda. Kabila is in turn supported by Zimbabwe, Namibia and Angola.

All parties signed a peace accord last year, but cease-fire violations have continued on all sides.

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