UN condemns attack on journalist in DRC

Head of UN Mission for Stabilisation of Congo (MONUSCO) Martin Kobler has strongly condemned the attack on a journalist working for the Congolese National Radio Television (RTNC).

"The attack is a serious threat to media freedom and I want to strongly condemn it. I express my support to the Congolese press which should be allowed to operate freely," the head of the UN mission said in a statement Monday.

Philemon Gira, an RTNC cameraman based in Goma, the North Kivu provincial headquarters in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was last Saturday shot by unknown armed men who stole his camera.

"It's an unacceptable act that should never be repeated. Media freedom is governed by international and African conventions and such acts constitute serious violations of human rights," Xinhua quoted Kobler as saying in the statement.

According to Journalists In Danger, an organisation involved in promotion of media freedom in Central Africa, Gira was the object of a targeted attack.