A rebel group that has seized the town of Bunia in the northeastern DRC, the Rwandan-backed Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC), said on Tuesday that if French soldiers were sent by the United Nations to keep peace in the area they would be viewed as ”enemies”.
France said it was ready to send troops to the troubled Ituri province following a
request from the United Nations, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday.
”The deterioration of the security situation in Ituri has led the secretary general of the United Nations to ask for a French batallion to be sent to this region,” said representative Francois Rivasseau.
”France is ready to contribute to the stabilisation of Ituri and right now we are studying ways of taking part in an international force,” he said.
The proposed deployment would be ”ad hoc and temporary” and aimed at supporting the existing UN contingent in the DRC, Rivasseau said.
On Monday France condemned the recent massacres of civilians in Ituri, notably in the town of Bunia, where rival militias are fighting for control of the region.
The UPC said in response on Tuesday that if French soldiers were sent by the United Nations to keep peace in the area they would be viewed as ”enemies”. – Sapa-AFP