UN extends Congo mandate
The UN Security Council voted unanimously to extend the mandate of the 16,700-member UN peacekeeping mission in Congo for a year and add 300 troops.
The small addition yesterday is far less than the 2,580 troops that Secretary-General Kofi Annan requested. To underscore that the 300 troops were a temporary addition, the council asked Annan to reduce the force by that number by July at the latest.
Annan had urged the council to bolster the mission to help secure some of the most troubled pockets of the country ahead of elections set for next year. But some council members, led by the US, contend the peacekeeping force is already the largest in the UN system and shouldn’t get any bigger.
In a report to the council last month, Annan said Congo has made encouraging progress in preparing for the elections but said additional peacekeepers were needed to secure the vote.
