UN Security Council to discuss proposal for UN troops

The UN Security Council is scheduled to discuss on Monday a report by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, which calls for a decision on the deployment of UN peacekeeping troops to Burundi, UN News reported. In his report, Annan said that with multiparty elections due in eight months, the council should make an early decision on sending troops to bolster the work of the African Union (AU) peacekeeping Mission in Burundi, whose mandates expires on 2 April. "I would, therefore, recommend that the Security Council consider authorising the deployment of a multidimensional United Nations peacekeeping operation to support the peace process in Burundi," Annan was quoted as saying in the report. He added, "If the United Nations is to answer the call of the African Union and the government of Burundi to assist in the final stages of the of the peace process, particularly in regard to enhancing the security situation, a decision, at least in principle, should be taken quickly, if possible before 2 April." Annan had said a UN assessment mission to Burundi was repeatedly reminded that violence followed the country's multiparty elections in 1962 and 1993 and could recur, UN News reported. This was especially significant because sustainable peace in Burundi was necessary for long-term stability in the entire Great Lakes region, Annan said in the report. Annan's proposal calls for a military component of 5,650 troops, including observers and headquarters staff, based on the reassignment of AU troops. The AU Mission in Burundi, or AMIB, has 2,523 troops, drawn from Ethiopia, Mozambique and South Africa. It was deployed to monitor the country's peace process following a decade of civil strife, which has claimed the lives of at least 250,000 people.