Congo: The UN Security Council gave approval yesterday for a heavily armed peacekeeping force for the Congo.
France has offered to lead the force for three months in the town of Bunia.
In Paris, Defence Minister Ms Michele Alliot-Marie said France would provide half of the 1,400 soldiers expected to be deployed in Bunia, where lightly armed UN peacekeepers are trying to protect thousands of civilians from rival ethnic militias.
The international force will not be a UN mission, but the 15-member Security Council voted unanimously under Chapter Seven of the United Nations Charter to authorise it to use deadly force if necessary. Diplomats said France had insisted on that.
The force's mandate is to protect civilians, the airport at Bunia and nearby refugee camps. - (AFP)