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Congo deal delayed at African Union meeting

Monday - 1/28/2013, 12:58pm  ET

Associated Press

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) -- A large-scale peace agreement to end fighting in Congo that would see more peacekeeping forces enter the region was delayed Monday over what the United Nations chief called "procedural issues."



"To cope with the threat posed by armed groups in the eastern part of the country, we plan to create a peace enforcement force in the mission," said Ban.





Ban is seeking additional resources to strengthen the U.N. peacekeeping force in Congo with "intervention" troops with a more robust mandate to protect civilians from armed groups in Congo's vast eastern region.

U.N. diplomats said Ban is expected to send a report to the council with specific recommendations for additional troops -- possibly totaling as many as 2,500 -- that would actively intervene, for example, to prevent another takeover of the key eastern city of Goma.

The Security Council wants to beef up the U.N. peacekeeping force known as MONUSCO, which has more than 17,700 U.N. peacekeepers and over 1,400 international police, following last year's takeover of many villages and towns in eastern Congo by M23 rebels who briefly held Goma before withdrawing in early December. The force -- the largest of the U.N.'s 15 far-flung peacekeeping operations -- did little to protect the tens of thousands of civilians, many of whom fled their homes.







Muhumuza reported from Kampala, Uganda. Associated Press writer Peter Spielmann contributed from the United Nations in New York.
