The United Nations wants to use drones for the first time to monitor fighting in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where Rwanda has been accused of aiding rebels, officials said on Friday.
Peacekeeping chiefs have been in contact with the governments of DR Congo and of Rwanda about the sensitive move, which could set a precedent that would worry other United Nations members, diplomats said.
UN leaders are looking for ways to strengthen their peacekeeping mission in DR Congo, MONUSCO, where guerrillas from the M23 rebel movement have taken over much of mineral-rich North Kivu province. UN experts say Rwanda and Uganda have sent troops and arms across the border. Both strongly deny the allegations.
The UN ‘is considering a range of ways to strengthen the capabilities of MONUSCO to protect civilians from the threat of armed groups in the vast area of eastern DR Congo,’ UN peacekeeping spokesman Kieran Dwyer said.
‘Unarmed aerial vehicles, drones for monitoring the movements of armed groups, are one tool we are considering,’ he said.
‘Of course, we would do this carefully, in full cooperation with the government of the DR Congo, and trialing their most effective uses for information gathering to help implement our mandate to protect civilians.’
‘Ultimately, to introduce these, we would need the support of member states to equip the mission,’ Dwyer said.
Peacekeeping chiefs have been in contact with the governments of DR Congo and of Rwanda about the sensitive move, which could set a precedent that would worry other United Nations members, diplomats said.
UN leaders are looking for ways to strengthen their peacekeeping mission in DR Congo, MONUSCO, where guerrillas from the M23 rebel movement have taken over much of mineral-rich North Kivu province. UN experts say Rwanda and Uganda have sent troops and arms across the border. Both strongly deny the allegations.
The UN ‘is considering a range of ways to strengthen the capabilities of MONUSCO to protect civilians from the threat of armed groups in the vast area of eastern DR Congo,’ UN peacekeeping spokesman Kieran Dwyer said.
‘Unarmed aerial vehicles, drones for monitoring the movements of armed groups, are one tool we are considering,’ he said.
‘Of course, we would do this carefully, in full cooperation with the government of the DR Congo, and trialing their most effective uses for information gathering to help implement our mandate to protect civilians.’
‘Ultimately, to introduce these, we would need the support of member states to equip the mission,’ Dwyer said.