UN to back attack on Congo rebels
 Rwandan troops entered DR Congo last week |
The UN mission to DR Congo (Monuc) says it will provide support to the joint DR Congo-Rwanda operation against Hutu rebels in the east of the country.
The UN force said it would provide transport for troops and medical assistance, but would not participate directly in the operation.
Rwandan troops entered DR Congo last week and arrested Congolese Tutsi rebel leader Laurent Nkunda.
The joint operation is now advancing on the FDLR Hutu rebels.
The Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) presence in eastern DR Congo has been a key factor in more than a decade of instability in the region.
It is a largely ethnic Hutu militia, some of whose leaders are accused of involvement in Rwanda's 1994 genocide.
 |   Our priority is to protect civilians and Monuc cannot stay on the sidelines of this operation  Lt Col Jean-Paul DietrichMonuc spokesman  |
Gen Nkunda always said his own rebellion was necessary to protect his Congolese Tutsi community from the FDLR.
Members of Gen Nkunda's group, the National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP), are joining the Congolese army following a split.
Monuc said it would help integrate the former CNDP rebels into the Congolese army, so they can help with the offensive against the FDLR.
A ceremony is set to be held later on Wednesday at a military camp near Rutshuru in North Kivu province to begin the week-long integration process.
"Our priority is to protect civilians and Monuc cannot stay on the sidelines of this operation. We must be present," Monuc spokesman Lt Col Jean-Paul Dietrich said.
The BBC's Thomas Fessy in Rutshuru says more than 6,000 former CNDP members are joining the Congolese forces.
Both DR Congo and Rwanda have been accused in the past of fighting a proxy war through militias in the region - with Rwanda backing Gen Nkunda and DR Congo supporting the FDLR.
But in mid-November Rwanda shifted its position, saying it would work with the Congolese to destroy the Hutu rebels.
Correspondents say it seems intense diplomacy has led to a deal under which DR Congo lets Rwanda act against its FDLR enemies, in return for taking out Gen Nkunda.
If both groups are neutralised, peace in the region would become a realistic prospect, say analysts.
On-and-off fighting involving the CNDP, FDLR, the army and pro-government militias has forced more than one million people in North Kivu to flee their homes since late 2006.
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