CONGO : U.N. Approves French-Led Force; Officials Expect More Violence by UN Wire 5:35pm 1st Jun, 2003   CONGO : U.N. Approves French-Led Force; Officials Expect More Violence    The U.N. Security Council today approved deployment of a French-led peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where violent clashes in the northeastern province of Ituri this month have killed some 400 people.    French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said today that the force will total 1,400 troops, half of them French. Pledges have been received "in principle" from Belgium, Germany, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom to provide troops, the minister said.    Diplomats warned that the biggest obstacle would be getting cooperation from Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and Rwandan President Paul Kagame, whose countries have been involved in the D.R.C.'s five-year civil war. While Uganda and Rwanda have reportedly withdrawn their forces from the D.R.C., the northeastern region of the D.R.C. remains particularly volatile.    Uganda withdrew more than 6,000 troops in early May, which sparked the crisis in the Ituri region, leaving rival Lendu and Hema tribes fighting for control of the area (Associated Press, May 30).    The new force will not be a U.N. mission, but was approved by the council under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, which allows authorization for use of deadly force if deemed necessary. The force's mandate is to protect the airport at Bunia, the main town in Ituri, and nearby refugee camps, and "if the situation requires it, to contribute to the safety" of the civilian population, U.N. troops and staff and aid workers. The U.N. peacekeepers already in the area have no such authority to use force.    The force's deployment is authorized through Sept. 1 (Agence France-Presse, May 30). At that time, a U.N. multinational force of 1,500 troops led by Bangladesh will take over.    U.N. officials in Bunia said they feared more fighting between Lendu and Hema militia forces.    "We think it's not a matter of if, but when," said one U.N. official in Bunia, where thousands of locals remain huddled in fear at the U.N. compound (Declan Walsh, London Independent, May 30).    Radio broadcasts in the region underscored fears of renewed ethnic violence, as Candip Radio reported that Hema militia would use force to remove civilians seeking refuge at the U.N. compound in Bunia. The broadcast resembled radio messages sent out during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, where ethnic Hutus used radio propaganda to incite mob attacks on ethnic Tutsis in violence that killed an estimated 800,000 people (Steven Edwards, National Post, May 30).    Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Carolyn McAskie called the situation in Ituri "horrible."    "We've seen the most horrible things in Bunia. Women who've lost their arms and legs, child amputees, men chopped to bits, women raped," said McAskie, who put the number of civilians hiding in the U.N. Bunia compound at more than 15,000.    McAskie added, "We're not just seeing women who have been raped, we're seeing women who have been torn apart, who have been cut up and who are on the edge of death" (CNN.com, May 30).    Bunia area resident Ruta Bonabingi, a witness to recent tribal violence, said, "The Lendu were going about with machetes, chopping off one arm from the shoulder and then the other. Some people were screaming, but most were silent" (Adrian Blomfield, London Telegraph, May 30). Visit the related web page
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