nAz
06-06-2003, 02:28 AM
I got to give it to the French Gov. on this one, the poor people of this Oil dry country are really suffering. I'm glad the French recognize the need to send troops to liberate these people.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/2967826.stm
French troops have begun arriving in the town of Bunia in eastern Congo where hundreds have been killed in weeks of violence.
The soldiers are spearheading a 1,400-strong rapid reaction force being deployed under a special mandate from the United Nations to provide security and protect civilians in the town.
The officer in command of the forces told the BBC's Ishbel Matheson that the troops' first priority was to secure the airport.
His men will then investigate the risks and technical difficulties involved in deploying a multinational force to Bunia.
Our correspondent says the soldiers arrived without warning, and that more are expected to touch down throughout the day.
People in Bunia - the main town in the Ituri region and the scene of several reported massacres - will welcome a force that can restore order, analysts say, but the reaction from rival militias is uncertain.
Our correspondent says the presence of foreign troops may deter killing in Bunia, but elsewhere in the surrounding countryside the massacres are likely to continue.
The European Union ratified the sending of the force on Thursday - the first time EU peacekeeping troops have been deployed outside Europe.
France, which is experienced in intervening in African trouble spots, will supply about 700 of the peacekeeping troops.
Diplomats say that the UK, Belgium, Sweden and Ireland may also participate along with a number of African nations such as South Africa and Senegal.
The Congolese Government has denied that its troops were involved in killings in Ituri over the weekend in which fighters from the majority Lendu community were reported to have slaughtered at least 100 people in a village populated by Hema people.
Tens of thousands of refugees, many of them children, have been fleeing attacks from militia around Bunia, according to Ugandan reports.
Civilians have been arriving in the Congolese town of Beni, 150 kilometres (93 miles) to the south, and their numbers have raised fears of a food crisis the
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/2967826.stm
French troops have begun arriving in the town of Bunia in eastern Congo where hundreds have been killed in weeks of violence.
The soldiers are spearheading a 1,400-strong rapid reaction force being deployed under a special mandate from the United Nations to provide security and protect civilians in the town.
The officer in command of the forces told the BBC's Ishbel Matheson that the troops' first priority was to secure the airport.
His men will then investigate the risks and technical difficulties involved in deploying a multinational force to Bunia.
Our correspondent says the soldiers arrived without warning, and that more are expected to touch down throughout the day.
People in Bunia - the main town in the Ituri region and the scene of several reported massacres - will welcome a force that can restore order, analysts say, but the reaction from rival militias is uncertain.
Our correspondent says the presence of foreign troops may deter killing in Bunia, but elsewhere in the surrounding countryside the massacres are likely to continue.
The European Union ratified the sending of the force on Thursday - the first time EU peacekeeping troops have been deployed outside Europe.
France, which is experienced in intervening in African trouble spots, will supply about 700 of the peacekeeping troops.
Diplomats say that the UK, Belgium, Sweden and Ireland may also participate along with a number of African nations such as South Africa and Senegal.
The Congolese Government has denied that its troops were involved in killings in Ituri over the weekend in which fighters from the majority Lendu community were reported to have slaughtered at least 100 people in a village populated by Hema people.
Tens of thousands of refugees, many of them children, have been fleeing attacks from militia around Bunia, according to Ugandan reports.
Civilians have been arriving in the Congolese town of Beni, 150 kilometres (93 miles) to the south, and their numbers have raised fears of a food crisis the