DRC polls: EU vows to be tough
2006-06-13 21:06
Brussels - European Union troops being
sent to help safeguard July 30 elections in the Democratic
Republic of Congo will deal robustly with any violence and use
deadly force if necessary, their commander vowed on Tuesday.
German Lieutenant-General Karlheinz Viereck said he was
confident the 2 000-strong force could help thwart potential
troublemakers despite limits on its mandate and the length of
its stay, set at a maximum of four months.
"If we send 2 000 troops into the arena, that doesn't mean
we are just there for deterrence ... It will mean fighting some
spoilers," Viereck told a news briefing.
"Yes, we can use force. If it is necessary, even deadly
force," he said when asked how far the EU troops would go in
protecting themselves and others from violence.
The vote will be the Democratic Republic of Congo's first
democratic elections in over 40 years, meant to draw a line
under the vast central African country's last, five-year war.
But preparations are being overshadowed by an opposition
boycott and continued fighting in the east of the country.
EU foreign ministers agreed on Monday to deploy troops for
four months until end-November in support of a 17 000-strong
UN peacekeeping mission.
The EU mandate runs out at around the
time that a presidential winner is due to be declared.
Viereck said 800 soldiers would be deployed in Kinshasa,
1 200 on stand-by in the Gabonese capital of Libreville and a
further unspecified force on reserve in Europe.