By Prensa Latina,
Paris : The eventual increase of foreign troops in war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo is expected to be discussed by the European Union at France’s request.
In a communiqué, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said on Monday that he convened a special meeting of the 27-member EU to achieve consensus on the UN request to send troops to the DRC.
He recalled that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon demanded EU support in this regard, which will be subject to the bloc’s consideration in Brussels in the next few days.
The UN has the United Nations Mission on the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) forces in the DRC since 2001. It is considered the most important UN mission, with 17,000 troops.
Without going into great detail about it, the UN ruled last week a beefing-up of forces with an additional 3,000 blue helmets for the DRC.