France will provide half of a 1 400-man international force to be deployed in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) once the United Nations (UN) has given the green light, according to Defence Minister Michele Alliot-Marie.
In a written statement to the National Assembly’s defence committee released on Friday, the minister said Belgium, Germany, Spain, Italy, Britain, Canada and South Africa had all said they were willing to lend soldiers to the force, whose aim will be to pacify rival armies in the north-east of the country.
”(The operation) will not be without military risks … The force will have to confront groups that are very well equipped, notably with ground-to-air missiles and armoured vehicles … The conditions under which the intervention will take place are difficult,” Alliot-Marie said.
The Security Council was later on Friday to examine a draft resolution presented by France authorising the deployment in the DRC’s troubled Ituri province. France’s ambassador to the UN Jean-Marc de la Sabliere has said troops could leave as early as next week.
Alliot-Marie said the operation now depended only on the UN resolution and the agreement of DRC’s neighbours.
”If these are achieved, it could be rapidly launched,” she said.
Rwanda this week softened its opposition to French intervention in DRC, saying it would be acceptable if it were part of a wider international force.
Fighting between rival ethnic groups in the Ituri region, which borders Uganda and Rwanda, has worsened in recent weeks. Since 1999, some 50 000 people have been killed in the region and 500 000 forced to flee their homes.
Britain has said it will contribute troops to the force, although the number will be fewer than 300, the BBC reported on Friday. – Sapa-AFP