UN to help with military plan
2009-01-29 10:45
Geneva - UN officials said on Wednesday their peacekeeping operation in Congo has for the first time agreed to help the government plan military strategy against rebel militia groups.
UN deputy spokesperson Marie Okabe said the Congo peacekeeping force, authorised with 20 000 troops, is contributing a team of military and logistical staff officers to the government at its request.
Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Edmund Mulet told reporters on Wednesday that six to eight military staff officers would be assisting Congo's government.
"Our main task there is to make sure international humanitarian laws are respected," he said.
The armies of Congo and Rwanda are battling together, in an unprecedented joint military operation, to disarm Rwandan Hutu militiamen in eastern Congo who have terrorised the region since Rwanda's 1994 genocide.
Rwanda recently deployed additional battalions to Congo and has about 4 000 troops in the Central African nation.
UN officials said they will integrate more than 6 000 former rebels into the Congolese army to help with battle against the FDLR - Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda.
The UN also intends to contribute civilian staff officers to help Congo's government coordinate humanitarian aid.
UN peacekeepers and the governments of Congo and Rwanda "all recognise the need to avoid civilians bearing the brunt of any repercussions and reprisals arising out of any joint operations", UN officials said in a statement.
French Deputy Ambassador Jean-Pierre Lacroix, speaking as president of the Security Council, said that Council member fully support the UN peacekeeping mission and insist on protection of civilians as military operations continue.
- AP