MARCH 19, 17:46 EST
U.N. May Intervene in Congo's War
By NICOLE WINFIELD
Associated Press Writer
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Diplomats and government leaders today debated U.N. intervention to stop the war in Congo, putting increasing pressure on the Security Council to act.
Diplomats have stressed that a U.N. peacekeeping mission for Congo is not imminent nor even assured, particularly since a cease-fire hasn't been negotiated and the conflict is so complex.
But several countries, including the United States, backed proposals Friday for some type of peacekeeping force.
''The U.S. would consider supporting a peacekeeping operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo if there were a comprehensive agreement (that the) mandate would be to observe and monitor, not to enforce the peace,'' said deputy U.S. Ambassador Peter Burleigh.
But Congo's minister for human rights, Leonard She Okitundu, asked Friday for international troops to police Congo's borders and demanded that they ensure Rwandan and Ugandan troops leave.
Rwandan and Ugandan troops have crossed into Congo to support rebels fighting to overthrow Congolese President Laurent Kabila. Since August, the rebels have swept through the eastern half of the country.
Kabila has enlisted military help from Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia.
The Security Council has been reluctant to intervene so far, leaving it to regional organizations such as the Organization of African Unity and the South African Development Community to negotiate a settlement.
But with little progress achieved, the council is coming under pressure to take on the conflict. The council has been hesitant to authorize peacekeeping missions since the failed 1995 U.N. mission in Somalia.
Confronted with the scale of the atrocities in Congo and the war's threat to the continent as a whole, Britain has circulated a discussion paper that calls for an international force of about 10,000-12,000 people to be sent to monitor a cease-fire once it is secured. The force would have a clear timetable for withdrawal.
British Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock warned Friday that the future of the increasingly marginalized United Nations depended on how it dealt with the Congolese conflict.
''If we can turn the tide for Africa, we will turn the tide for the United Nations,'' Greenstock said.
Ambassador Dieter Kastrup of Germany, speaking for the European Union, said the EU ''stands ready to support efforts which might be undertaken by the U.N. to assist in the implementation of a cease-fire agreement.''
The U.N. refugee agency, meanwhile, reported from Geneva that an additional 14,000 refugees have fled fighting in Congo in the last two weeks, seeking refuge in Zambia and Tanzania.
The new arrivals in Zambia say tens of thousands more have massed across the border, said Judith Kumin, spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.
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