The United Nations is set to increase the number of peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s troubled eastern region, where fighting between government forces and a rebel group has displaced hundreds of thousands of people, according to a U.N. official..
The U.N. Security Council is expected to approve a resolution this week that will authorize the deployment of an additional 3,000 troops to the region, said Martin Kobler, the head of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo, known as MONUSCO, in an interview with The Associated Press..
The new troops will be deployed to areas where fighting has been most intense, including the provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu, Kobler said..
The fighting has displaced more than 600,000 people in the past year, according to the U.N. refugee agency. Many of the displaced have fled to neighboring countries, including Rwanda and Uganda..
The conflict in eastern Congo is fueled by a complex mix of factors, including ethnic tensions, competition for control of natural resources, and the presence of armed groups..
The U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo has been in place since 1999 and is one of the largest and most expensive in the world. The mission has been criticized for failing to protect civilians from violence, but Kobler said that the additional troops will help to improve security in the region..
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