UN to send extra 3,000 peacekeepers to Congo
Friday, 21 November 2008
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The United Nations has agreed to send an extra 3,000 peacekeepers to the Democratic Republic of Congo in an effort to protect civilians from the latest violence in the country.
The move follows a major new military campaign in the east of the country by renegade general Laurent Nkunda.
His forces have taken over several towns and cities, with government soldiers fleeing and leaving the security of civilians in the hands of UN troops.
The new deployment will bring the total UN contingent in the area to just over 20,000, the largest peacekeeping mission in the world.
