MONUC sets out its plans

At each of its regional sectors - in Mbandaka, Kisangani, Mbuji-Mayi and Kindu - there would be a sector headquarters, communications unit, support hub and infantry battalion, according to the briefing document. The infantry battalions, of 850 men each, would establish a secure base, protect UN facilities, provide limited escort to military observers, and provide logistical back-up. In addition, river patrol companies would be established at Mbandaka and Kisangani, with 130 troops and nine patrol boats per company.

The role of these river patrols would be to protect UN river convoy traffic moving from Kinshasa to Kisangani, and to “monitor, observe and report on” the combatants’ military forces on or along the northwestern and northeastern areas of the Congo River. The patrols would facilitate humanitarian traffic on the river and try to encourage commercial river traffic through their visible presence, MONUC said. The UN force also intends to deploy 45-member medical units at Kisangani and Mbuji-Mayi.