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KINSHASA, June 18 (AFP) - The UN observer mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Tuesday lodged a stern protest with a key rebel movement over an alleged assault on its personnel in the northeastern city of Kisangani.

The UN mission, known by its French acronym MONUC, said in a statement that a commander of the seventh brigade of the RCD/Goma splinter group of the rebel Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD), which controls the eastern third of the DRC, had ordered his troops to assault MONUC personnel in Kisangani.

"Commander Laurent Mihigo Kunda ... came with an armed escort to the entrances of ... MONUC premises and, before the MONUC security guard could advise his supervisor, the rebel commander ordered his armed troops to force down the gate, and beat up the Moroccan (MONUC) guard who intervened," the statement said.

The rebels then assaulted two more security guards, whom they forced into a vehicle and drove to a hangar, where they questioned them, according to MONUC.

"Commander Mihigo Kunda stopped harassing one of the two security officers when he learned that he was not Congolese and immediately offered to replace his eyeglasses, which were broken during the tough interrogation session," the statement said.

The same afternoon as the attack by Mihigo Kunda's men, another RCD/Goma officer, named only as Commander Frank, forced the same gate outside the UN mission's premises and threatened MONUC soldiers, according to the statement.

Mihigo Kunda has said the incident was the result of a misunderstanding between his guards and the Moroccan MONUC soldiers, but the United Nations has rejected explanations offered by the RCD, including one that the rebels had mistaken the MONUC guards for Congolese.

"This type of excuse is not only unacceptable but also bears witness to an intolerable and unequivocal abuse of power," the statement said.

RCD/Goma has apologised to MONUC, and the rebel movement has sent a team to Kisangani to conduct investigations into the UN allegations, the statement said. - Nampa-AFP

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