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U.N. to Redeploy Peacekeepers to Congo
The United Nations said on Wednesday it would redeploy 4,000 of its forces to Congoâs volatile northeast, where peacekeepers have come under fire from rival ethnic militias fighting for control of mineral riches. The troops will join 5,300 U.N. peacekeepers already in northeastern Congo, most of whom are based in Ituri province near the border with Uganda.Wonder if any Uruguayans are part the new bunch? U.N. special representative William Swing told journalists in Kinshasa, the capital, that reinforcements pulled from other parts of Congo "are already on their way" to Ituri, where they will try to enforce an arms embargo and oversee disarmament of fighters. Swing said the redeployment was possible because of a return to peace elsewhere in Africaâs third-largest nation, after five years of war that killed an estimated 3 million people, mainly through war-induced famine and disease. Sounds like everyone got a cut of the vigorish elsewhere. The United Nations has a total of 10,800 peacekeepers in Congo, helping a transitional government try to regain control of its Western Europe-size territory and prepare for elections that could be held in less than two years. If theyâre allowed to shoot back it might actually help. Posted by: Steve White 2004-02-19 |
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