UN troops arrive in Congo

The first United Nations troops have arrived in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The deployment is part of a mission to try to verify that all parties in the Congolese conflict keep to the terms of a peace agreement signed in the Zambian capital Lusaka three years ago.

The agreement has been largely ignored, and the UN troops find themselves entering what is described as one of the world's most complex wars.

The conflict inside the country involves six foreign armies, and two main rebel groups. The rebels are backed by Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda; the government by Angola, Zimbabwe and Namibia. The plan is for all foreign armies to withdraw completely by mid-May.

A BBC correspondent says that while there are plenty of reasons for Congo's neighbours to pull out, the country's extraordinary mineral wealth also gives them plenty of reasons to stay -- senior officers from all the armies involved have amassed great fortunes by trading diamonds, gold and oil in the areas they occupy.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service