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The UN Security council began discussions on Wednesday on a new mandate for the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, known by its French acronym, MONUC, according to a spokeswoman for the mission, Patricia Tome.
In a statement, Tome said the new mandate, scheduled to come into effect on 1 October, would increase the number of UN peacekeepers in the DRC from 10,800 to 23,900.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan recommended the increase in his third special report on the DRC. Tome said it would allow MONUC to maintain a credible presence in areas of the country that are prone to insecurity.
For more than two months, the eastern provinces of North and South Kivu have experienced a wave of instability following a weeklong occupation in June of the South Kivu capital, Bukavu, by army dissident forces.
The massacre on 13 August of at least 160 Congolese refugees at a Burundian refugee camp has, for many, highlighted the need to strengthen MONUC's presence in eastern DRC.
On 30 July, the UN Security Council had extended MONUC's mandate for two months to allow Annan time to gather information and submit his recommendations by 16 August.
On that occasion, the council expressed concern over the continuation of hostilities in eastern Congo, particularly in the Kivus, as well as in the northeastern Ituri District. It said the situation in the DRC continued to constitute a threat to international peace and security in the region.
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