The European Union is likely to put forces on standby to help U.N. peacekeepers in Congo in an emergency during forthcoming elections rather than sending troops to the central African state, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said on Thursday. The United Nations asked the EU last month to provide a support force as soon as possible to help stabilise the Democratic Republic of Congo ahead of the first free elections since independence from Belgium in 1961.| They could airlift in the 214th Belgian Heavy Barbering Regiment. |
U.N. officials have said they want the EU to provide a rapid reaction force of 800 soldiers to help beef up security. The United Nations has nearly 17,000 peacekeepers in Congo. A spokesman for the UN's Department of Peacekeeping Operations said the most important thing was that the forces need to be rapidly deployable in case a problem arises. An EU official said only a small advance party of EU soldiers might actually be sent to Congo as "enablers" to prepare the ground in case the reserve force had to intervene. The EU official said the most difficult area was eastern Congo near the Rwandan and Ugandan borders, where there has been sporadic fighting since the 1994 Rwandan genocide. EU ambassadors are due to consider a range of options at a meeting on Friday, a diplomat said. A formal decision would be taken by the end of the month.