A reconnaissance team from the French army has arrived in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to evaluate the needs of an international emergency peacekeeping force for the Ituri region to back up the United Nations mission, Monuc.
”The group of 12 men, part of the infantry, is made up mainly of logistics experts who will evaluate the technical constraints of deploying an emergency international force as requested by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and approved by the Security Council on May 16,” reliable sources said on Sunday evening.
The Security Council approved Annan’s request by consensus, but so far only France has agreed to provide troops for the force.
Paris said, however, that it would only do so if Rwanda and Uganda requested that the emergency force be deployed.
The Security Council has condemned ”the murders, violence and other violations of human rights committed recently in Bunia,” the main city in northeastern Ituri, a part of DRC riven for years by ethnic unrest.
Fresh fighting last week in Bunia claimed at least 10 lives and sent tens of thousands of civilians fleeing the city towards Beni, 200 kilometres away.
Others sought refuge near the airport and Monuc’s headquarters in Bunia, but the lightly armed UN forces in Ituri have been unable to provide adequate protection to the civilians fleeing the fighting.
The UN currently has some 700 peacekeepers in Bunia. – Sapa