Europeans call for more UN troops in Congo

The worsening humanitarian crisis in eastern Congo has prompted MEPs to call on the United Nations Security Council to bolster the UN peace mission by 3,000 troops, with France pledging to contribute to the reinforcements.

Beefing up the existing 17,000-strong UN peacekeeping mission (MONUC) and expanding its mandate to also tackle illegal exploitation of gold and diamond mines were the two key proposals emerging from a plenary debate in European Parliament on Wednesday (19 November), a...