by Lucy-Claire Saunders

    UNITED NATIONS, July 10 (Xinhua) -- The hasty integration of former rebel soldiers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)has created a number of problems for the United Nations' largest peacekeeping mission, the UN top envoy said here on Friday.

    "Problems have become worse with the integration" of the Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP) into the government army, Alan Doss, head of MONUC, the French acronym for the UN peacekeeping operations in the DRC, told reporters. "We're paying the price for that."

    The recent UN-backed military offensive against the rebel group the Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda (FDLR) has been unable to stem the tide of violence committed against civilians, and in some cases has aggravated the situation.

    "In a number of areas, these problems have gotten worse," said Doss. "This is one of the dilemmas we are dealing with."

    Civilians have borne the brunt of military operations conducted by the UN-backed Congolese army, the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC), with soldiers committing crimes against innocent bystanders and the FDLR retaliating by inflicting unspeakable crimes.

    "This is a humanitarian tragedy," Marcel Stoessel, the DRC director of the humanitarian agency Oxfam told Xinhua in a telephone interview. "Things have gotten worse with ... ordinary women, children, and men in Eastern Congo living under constant threat of rape and looting by all sides."

    Since the UN-supported military offensive against the FDLR began in January, 800,000 civilians have been displaced, according to UN estimates.

    To make matters even more complicated, the speedy integration of former CNDP rebels into the UN-backed FARDC has created a situation whereby the UN now finds itself supporting a military unit accused of committing grave atrocities against civilians.

    By throwing its weight behind the Congolese army, the UN has found itself operating in contradiction, said Stoessel, who is currently in the DRC.

    "The UN is operating within some contradictions," said Stoessel. "On the one hand, MONUC has the prime mandate to protect civilians. On the other hand, MONUC is supposed to support the Congolese army, which is by itself abusing human rights."

    Indeed, a UN Group of Experts report in May gave more evidence to support that wanted war criminal Bosco Ntaganda is working with the Congolese army as a de-facto deputy commander for military operations in the eastern region of the DRC.

    However, Doss denied that MONUC works with Ntaganda, adding that "commanders on the ground are under strict orders" not to get involved with him.

    Doss acknowledged the challenge of protecting civilians with an army of former rebels and said that if the Congolese army continued to engage in the same pattern of behavior, the UN would have to reconsider its financial support.

    "This is not a blank check," he stressed.

    Doss added that he hoped the 3,000 additional troops and police units committed by Bangladesh, Egypt, Jordon and Tanzania due to arrive within the next three months will help improve security.

    Equally, Doss said that FARDC units must be provided with monetary incentives to behave. Some of them are forced to bring their families to the front lines because they cannot even afford barracks, a problem that has "gotten worse" since the integration, he noted.

    In a Washington Times op-ed published on Friday, Doss urged donor partners "to dig deeper to help the Congo deal with the crisis and fund the reforms that can help the army gain the confidence of the people."

    "The government must improve conditions for troops in the field," he wrote. "This means barracks, sufficient food and wages paid in full and on time."

    On Friday, after being briefed by Doss, the UN Security Council issued a press statement reiterating their support for MONUC and encouraged UN staff to continue monitoring the conduct of FARDC units.

    Ugandan UN Ambassador Ruhakana Rugunda, who holds the rotating Council presidency for the month of July, read the Council's statement, which expressed "grave concern over the renewed activity of illegal armed groups" and "condemned the targeted attacks against the civilian population."

    The Council "stressed that fighting impunity is an integral part of the much-needed comprehensive reform of the security sector," and welcomed the "zero-tolerance policy against criminal acts" announced by Congolese authorities last week.