The United Nations Security Council has given Secretary General Kofi Annan the go-ahead to plan for a peacekeeping mission in the war-torn Central African country of Burundi, the UN News Service said.
”It is my intention to immediately begin preparations,” Annan wrote in a letter to the Security Council, released late on Monday.
A UN peacekeeping contingent of approximately 5 500, if approved, will replace the current African Union mission with its 2 500 troops, whose mandate runs out in May.
Last month, Annan recommended that the UN’s role in Burundi be strengthened to support the country’s transition process. Elections are scheduled for October this year.
Since the civil war began in Burundi in 1993, an estimated 250 000 people have been killed.
A peace agreement was signed in 2000, but the situation in the country remains highly volatile. About 30 000 people have been displaced in recent clashes between rebels and government forces. — Sapa-DPA