AU appeals for assistance for displaced victims of Congo arms depot explosion

Khartoum, Sudan (PANA) - The African Union (AU) on Monday appealed to the international community to help families of the Congolese killed or injured in an arms depot explosion, expressing sadness over the fatal incident.

“The Chairperson of the AU Commission, Jean Ping, has learnt with sadness the news of the explosions in Brazzaville, Congo, on 4 March, 2012, following the fire that broke out in an arms and ammunition depot,” according to a press release issued by the union which was received by PANA here.

It quoted Ping as deploring “the significant number of deaths recorded in the incident as well as the hundreds of people injured by the explosions".

Expressing his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families, the people and Government of the Congo, Ping also called on AU Member States and the international community to show solidarity with and provide assistance to the Congolese Government in the face of the tragedy.

Some 146 people were killed and many injured on Sunday following the explosions.
-0- PANA MO/VAO 5March2012