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United Nations Security Council Kofi Annan has urged the Security Council to urgently consider his proposal for deploying a multinational force in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a UN spokesman said Friday.
In a letter to Council President Munir Akram of Pakistan, Anna asked "council members to urgently consider his proposal for the rapid deployment to Bunia (in eastern DRC) of a highly-trained and well-equipped multinational force," spokesman Fred Eckhard told reporters.
"Because the situation in Bunia threatens to undermine the peace process in the DRC, and thereby threaten international peace and security in the region, he (Annan) concluded that the international community must act decisively," Eckhard said.
Annan proposed that the troops be "under the lead of a member state" and "stay in position until the UN peacekeeping mission in the country could be considerably reinforced," the spokesman said.
In the letter published Friday, Annan expressed deep concern at the rapidly deteriorating situation in and around Bunia city, a scene of major violent tribal clashes between the local Hema and Lendu militia groups.
Warning of "further worsening of the situation" and "serious humanitarian consequences," Annan called for the deployment of the multinational force to "provide security at the airport as well as to other vital installations in this town and protect the civilian population."
He said such a multinational force should be authorized by the Security Council under the provisions of the United Nations Charter.
Early this week, Annan told reporters that France had indicated willingness to join such an international force with a clear mandate given by the Security Council.
The militia groups of the Lendu and Hema have fought for control of Bunia since Ugandan troops started to withdraw from the city in early May. The fighting has left hundreds of people dead and tens of thousands of others displaced.
According to Eckhard, some 12,000 local residents were currently taking refugee in the headquarters of UN peacekeepers in Bunia and an airport outside the city where a group of UN troops was also deployed.
He said two peacekeepers, who went missing while patrolling the city early this week, remained unaccounted for.
(Xinhua News Agency May 17, 2003)
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