Increase in Congo peacekeepers approved

The UN Security Council voted unanimously on Thursday to send some 3,000 extra peacekeepers to Democratic Republic of Congo to help protect civilians and end weeks of conflict in the turbulent east.

The UN peacekeeping mission in Congo, known by its French acronym MONUC, is the world's biggest UN peacekeeping operation and will be increased temporarily to just over 20,000 troops and police once the reinforcements are deployed. But the deployment could take weeks and even months, UN officials say.

Aid workers have criticised MONUC for lack of action in allowing a humanitarian disaster to develop in Congo's North Kivu province, where a quarter of a million people have fled recent fighting between the Congolese army and Tutsi rebels.

While Congo's government and aid agencies welcomed the extra UN troops, some groups urged the European Union to immediately send a bridging rapid reaction force, citing likely delays of up to two months before the UN reinforcements arrived.