U.K.: Europe Could Send Troops To Congo

Official Says E.U. Forces May Be Used If Fragile Cease-Fire Between Rebel Fighters, Army Fails

(AP)  The European Union could send troops to Congo if a fragile cease-fire between rebel fighters and the army fails, the U.K. minister for African affairs said Saturday as rebels forced tens of thousands of people from makeshift refugee camps in the insurgent-held zone.

The French and British foreign ministers arrived in Congo for talks with Congolese and Rwandan officials as pressure mounted for a regional summit to secure an end to the country's worst violence in years.

Outside the regional capital, Goma, rebels were pushing people to leave camps and return home, witnesses and a U.N. official said. They did not say why this was happening and the rebels issued no immediate comment.

"They beat us with sticks and told us that we must get out," said Daria Nyarangaruye, an elderly woman who wore a rosary around her neck.

Nyarangaruye said she had been forced to leave a camp in Tongo that had housed thousands of people a day earlier. She spoke near her home by a roadside, six miles (10 kilometers (six miles) away and said she feared more fighting and did not feel safe.

Further south in Rutshuru, a rebel commander who identified himself as Maj. Muhire said people were returning home because they were free to. But a U.N. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he feared for the safety of U.N. staff, said rebels have closed camps housing thousands of people.

An upsurge in fighting between rebels loyal to Laurent Nkunda and the army since August has displaced more than 220,000 people in a region already home to about 800,000 more displaced. Nkunda's fighters advanced to the doorstep of Goma Wednesday, forcing U.N. peacekeepers and the bedraggled army to retreat in tanks and commandeered civilian cars.

The rebels declared a unilateral cease-fire Wednesday night and diplomats have rushed to secure it.

Britain's Africa minister, Mark Malloch-Brown, said Britain is on standby to provide forces for any EU mission, which would be aimed at bolstering the efforts of United Nations peacekeepers if violence escalates.

But British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said a political, rather than a military, solution is needed.

"There is only a solution to this by discussion and not by military means," Brown said as he left London on a trip to the Middle East.

Foreign ministers from Britain and France are holding talks with leaders in the region following fierce fighting between the army and Laurent Nkunda's rebel movement, some of the worst violence in the Central African nation in years.

Malloch-Brown told BBC radio that, though a diplomatic solution is the priority, contingency plans have been drafted for the deployment of an EU force comprised of British troops.

"We have certainly got to have it as an option which is developed and on the table if we need it," Malloch-Brown said. "If everything else fails we cannot stand back and watch violence erupt."

The European Union is proposing a U.N.-organized summit of the nations bordering eastern Congo, and says Rwanda and Congo would attend. Rwanda's presidency said no date had been set and gave no details.

EU Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Louis Michel, who held talks with Congo President Joseph Kabila in Congo's capital, Kinshasa, said Saturday such a summit could create a roadmap toward a "permanent solution" for the violence.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has also urged the warring parties in eastern Congo to start negotiations in a neutral venue to restore peace.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and his British counterpart David Miliband also met Kabila, then flew to Goma.

Kouchner immediately set off for Kibati, a village on the outskirts of Goma that houses thousands of refugees. Saturday, the area was drenched by a tropical storm that left people wandering around with their bundles of belongings in search of a dry spot for the night.

The two foreign ministers were due in the Rwandan capital Saturday night.

On Saturday, the French aid group Medecins Sans Frontiers said it was "extremely concerned about the tens of thousands of people currently on the move, fleeing the fighting." It said they were in "urgent need of clean water, basic items like blankets and shelter materials, and food."

As of Friday, MSF said its team at Rutshuru hospital had treated 83 people for gunshot wounds as well as 20 other war-wounded.

The conflict is fueled by festering ethnic hatred left over from Rwanda's 1994 genocide and Congo's unrelenting civil wars. All sides also are believed to fund fighters by illegally mining Congo's vast mineral riches, giving them no financial interest in stopping the fighting.

Nkunda's rebellion has threatened to re-ignite the back-to-back wars that afflicted Congo from 1996 to 2002, drawing in a half dozen African nations.

[guadalcanal3]

zwaggsy...Great Britain recieved volumes of intell and logistic support...as well as a U.S.Navy presence in a huge support role during the Falkland Islands war...but don''t take my word for it...read the history or ask Margaret Thatcher "The Iron Lady"...just to set the record straight.

[wl7bzh]

Posted by zwaggsy at 09:23 PM : Nov 01, 2008

The Brits have been with the U.S. when it was not politically expedient for their politicians-Don''t know bout everybody else, but I''m grateful.

[bradosol]

"Rest assured that the Europeans will leave when the first shots are fired. They don''t have the will or fortitude to deal with conflict."

posted by rhs648
______________________________________________________

Yet another blowhard!

What planet do they live on with their ignorance and arrogance?

[zwaggsy]

To rhs648

We kicked Argentina out off the Falklands in the last major conflict involving 20th century weapons! I seem to recall we did this all on our lonesome & against the wishes off the incumbent US president!

[zwaggsy]

While it sounds easy to simply request foreign troops the sad fact is that the prescence of any former colonial powers would in all likelihood make the situation worse.

Back in England this has become a major point off contention over Zimbabwe with with refugees from that country begging for intervention while African immigrants who are already settled over here demand that we stay the hell out!

[downsteamjim]

Moosetoriches: I realize that you must believe in Obama''s new geography like the 57+ states. Apparently this belief has you thinking that Alaska is in Africa. Get an atlas or go back to grade 4.

[sg564645]

The British restored control in Sierra Leone in 2000 and totally wiped out the armed gangs. Maybe you should google Operation Barras.

[rhs648]

hope the U.S. stays out of this one. Its about time Europe takes initiative like this.

Posted by markavelli2

Rest assured that the Europeans will leave when the first shots are fired. They don''t have the will or fortitude to deal with conflict.

[dkhorse1]

www.chilitoz.com

They still think I%u2019m going to vote for McCain and Terrorist Sarah Palin! Heck no, Sarah is a dangerous criminal and should be arrested!

________________________________________
Posted by mooseisgood at 04:12 PM : Nov 01, 2008

You%u2019re an idiot. I would vote for Palin to spite you, you%u2019re an @sshole. Shut up. No matter how many names you post under.

[dkhorse1]

EU forces? What forces? The EU is pacifist, they run from confrontation. I guess the "forces" will just watch what happens.

[markavelli2]

I hope the U.S. stays out of this one. Its about time Europe takes initiative like this.