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UN Declines to Comment on Kabila Until Death Confirmed
The United Nations has declined to make any comment on the fate of President Laurent Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo following his alleged assassination Tuesday.
"There is still not any official announcement concerning the reported death of President Laurent Kabila out of the government in Kinshasa.... I think until we hear from the government in Kinshasa, we would not comment," UN spokesman Fred Eckhard told reporters Thursday.
Asked about the possibility of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to attend the reported funeral for Kabila next week, Eckhard said he doubts that Annan will change his travel plan.
The UN chief is in Cameroon to attend the Africa-France Summit. He is scheduled to leave Sunday for Beijing on a visit to China from January 20-22.
Eckhard said the UN headquarters in New York has no communication difficulty with Kinshasa and Annan's envoy to the DRC has been in contact with Congolese officials.
"Until we get official confirmation, the rest is pure speculation," he said, adding that if Kabila's death is confirmed, the UN would hope that the incident won't set back the peace process for the DRC as the country's stability is central to the whole Africa.
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