UN draft seeks to boost DRC force

The UN mission in DR Congo is struggling to contain the fighting

France has presented a draft resolution to the United Nations Security Council aimed at strengthening the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The move would increase the number of UN troops in the country by 3,000.

At present, there are about 17,000 soldiers and police in DR Congo - the biggest UN force of its kind.

Clashes between government and rebel forces in the east have driven hundreds of thousands of people from their homes and created a humanitarian crisis.

The BBC's Laura Trevelyan at the UN says it is not clear which countries would contribute the extra troops, or when they could be deployed.

The Security Council is expected to vote on the proposal later this week.

See detailed map of the area

In the latest violence, the rebels are reported to have taken the town of Rwindi, about 125km (75 miles) north of Goma, at the weekend.

The fighting comes as UN envoy Olusegun Obasanjo continues efforts to broker an end to the conflict.

FORCES AROUND GOMA CNDP: Gen Nkunda's Tutsi rebels - 6,000 fighters FDLR: Rwandan Hutus - 6-7,000 Mai Mai: pro-government militia - 3,500 Monuc: UN peacekeepers - 6,000 in North Kivu, including about 1,000 in Goma (17,000 nationwide) DRC army - 90,000 (nationwide) Source: UN, military experts UK minister seeks Congo peace bid

In talks with Mr Obasanjo on Sunday, Gen Nkunda said he would support a peace process with the government.

He also agreed to ceasefire monitors being deployed, as long as they did not include UN peacekeepers, whom he accuses of bias.

The government of DR Congo's President Joseph Kabila has to date rejected rebel calls for direct negotiation.

An estimated 250,000 people have been made homeless by weeks of fighting between rebels and government troops.

Gen Nkunda says he is fighting to protect his Tutsi community from attacks by Rwandan FDLR Hutu rebels who fled to DR Congo after the 1994 genocide.

The Congolese army has been accused of working with the FDLR fighters to exploit eastern DR Congo's rich mineral resources.

The DR Congo government says Gen Nkunda is backed by neighbouring Rwanda - charges denied by Rwanda's government.

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