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Euro-army force to stop Congo
killing The European Union agreed yesterday to deploy the new Euro-army for the first time outside Nato command, taking charge of a high-risk United Nations mission to stop the slaughter of civilians in the Congo. The French-led force, authorised by the United Nations last week, will now come under the European Rapid Reaction Force. Most of the 1,400-strong force will be made up of French troops wearing EU insignia, backed by British specialists, and Belgian, Canadian and African troops. They will start moving into action next week, with artillery and fighter jet support, ready to fight pitched battles if necessary. Up to 400 villagers have already been killed in the Congo's eastern Ituri region over the last three weeks, many by roving rebel groups under the sway of neighbouring Rwanda. The feuding militias have overwhelmed the UN's lightly-armed garrison in Bunia, which is mostly cooped up in its own compound. Glenys Kinnock, a Labour MEP, said: "All the signs are that this could tip over into terrible bloodshed and become another genocide. "The French have been itching to go in but they're not the most loved in the region, so if it's an EU force, with the Brits on board, it has far less political baggage." The EU deployed elements of its 60,000-man rapid reaction force for the first time in Macedonia two months ago, but the mission relies on a Nato "extraction force" if anything goes wrong. Diplomats say the Congo is much more dangerous terrain. The
Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni, Uganda is in anarchy" Groupe de communication Mulindwas "avec Yoweri Museveni, l'Ouganda est dans l'anarchie" |
