afrol News, 20 November - The UN Security Council today has approved of the deployment of 3,085 new military and police personnel in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), to strengthen the pressured UN mission in the country (MONUC).

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon had requested the extra troops for MONUC, as the peacekeeping mission was seen as strongly overstretched in the vast country to meet the new fighting in eastern Congo, which have caused the world's currently gravest humanitarian crisis. MONUC was said to lose confidence among the Congolese as it was forced to abandon civilian victims to the renewed conflict.

According to the unanimous Security Council resolution, MONUC was given the extra troops with immediate effect, to be deployed in the conflict region by 31 December. The mission was left open-ended, depending on the security situation in the Kivu provinces in eastern Congo.

MONUC already comprises of more than 17,000 troops and police, being the world's largest peacekeeping mission. However, with a vague mandate and a vast territory needing to be patrolled, the mission has been seen as widely inefficient to protect eastern Congo's civilian population. Today's resolution increases MONUC troop numbers, but it does not widen its mandate, meaning that it still can take no military action to protect civilians.

It is unsure from where the UN can expect to recruit this big amount of peacekeepers at short notice.

There had existed a hope that the European Union (EU) would take action in this humanitarian crisis by sending its far better trained and equipped special troops to eastern Congo. The EU however has not been willing to send troops, rather opting for a strengthening of MONUC, where very few Europeans participate.

An estimated 250,000 civilians have been forced to flee their homes since new fighting erupted between the poorly trained DRC army and a rebel group led by General Laurent Nkunda.

The rebels yesterday withdrew from positions north of the city of Goma, allowing humanitarian aid to reach desperate civilians in the region and creating some hope. The withdrawal came after former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo had held talks with the warring parties.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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