France's Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner (middle) and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana(L) attend a news conference after a meeting of the foreign affairs ministers of the European Union in Marseille November 3, 2008. (Xinhua/AFP Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
MARSEILLE, France, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- The European Union would not rule out the possiblity to send troops to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to help the UN to head off the worsened conflict between rebels and government forces, EU officials said here on Monday.
"We're talking about the work of the 17,000 UN peacekeepers there at the moment and the role of the European Union in supporting that politically, diplomatically, and no-one's ruling out a military role," British Foreign Secretary David Miliband told reporters upon his arrival for an informal meeting of European Union foreign ministers.
But Miliband noted that no decision would be made until after the United Nations Security Council made a decision, saying "It will be for the United Nations including EU countries in the UN to listen to that report."
UN Secretary General Ban-Ki moon's deputy responsible for peacekeeping to the DRC has gone to DRC to inspect report on the conflict that has forced millions to flee their homes.
France's Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner attends a news conference after a meeting of the foreign affairs ministers of the European Union in Marseille November 3, 2008. (Xinhua/AFP Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, who visited the violence-torn African country recently with Miliband told a press conference after the meeting "Europe has to act" in the DRC and that meant to "increase the number of soldiers and make it more efficient."
Both Kouchner and Miliband said the EU would back the African Union in solving the DRC crisis in a political way, saying that there would be "no military solution."
Millions of people have lived in camps around Rutshuru or fled into nearby villages and jungle after conflict between government forces and rebel National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP) flared up in the DRC.
As many as 17,000 UN peacekeeping force, its biggest ever mission, have been in the African country.
A UN armoured vehicle outside the UN headquarters in Goma, the provincial capital of the eastern province of North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo, Oct. 31, 2008. (Xinhua/AFP Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
KINSHASA, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- The UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will deploy a new force in days to come in the troubled west African country in support of the government army to contain conflicts, the head of the mission announced on Friday. Full story
A boy stands outside the refugee camps near Goma, the provincial capital of the eastern province of North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo, Oct. 31, 2008. (Xinhua/AFP Photo) Photo Gallery>>>
UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- Top UN officials on Friday voiced deep concern over the plight of the huge number of civilians caught up in the deadly fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and appealed to all sides to ensure their safety. Full story
NAIROBI Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- The UN refugee agency said that as many as 45,000 Congolese people have fled camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) on Wednesday and streamed into a nearby provincial capital. Full story
KINSHASA, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- Fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is driving 30,000 people into refugee camps near Goma, the provincial capital of the country's eastern province of North Kivu, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Wednesday. Full story
NAIROBI, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- The international aid agency Oxfam said on Wednesday that the fresh fighting in eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) has displaced tens of thousands more people from their homes. Full story
KINSHASA, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- The rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) declared on Wednesday a unilateral cease-fire as they threatened to take over a strategic city in the country, reports from agencies said. Full story
