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10/02/2004:

"UN Council Approves 5, 900 More Troops for Congo"

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously on Friday to send another 5,900 peacekeepers to the Congo, less than half of what U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan had requested.

The U.N. mission in the vast Democratic Republic of the Congo now has a ceiling of 10,800 troops and police. Annan had wanted to add another 13,100 troops but the United States, which pays more than 25 percent of the cost, scaled down the numbers.

Expressing dismay, Annan told the 15-nation council after the vote that U.N. officials would have to review the scope of their plans, particularly in reinforcing the peace process in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

``I continue to believe that the total military and police strength recommended in my (report) is the minimum required to effectively meet the current challenges in the DRC,'' Annan said.

But with demand for U.N. peacekeepers soaring, the Bush administration pushed hard for cuts, and approved troops only for Congo's volatile eastern regions, along the border with Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania and Uganda. France and Britain then agreed to the compromise.

After Annan spoke, U.S. representative Stuart Holliday said the increase in troops met the ``missions's current needs.''

He also said it was his understanding that the peacekeepers, which do not include American personnel, would not cooperate with the Hague-based International Criminal Court or the United States would ask for some money back.

Full Article:Reuters