The UN Security Council agreed on Thursday to reinforce the UN Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) by sending 3,000 more troops.

Unanimously adopting resolution 1843, the 15-member body authorized a temporary increase of the military strength of MONUC of up to 2,785 military personnel, and the strength of its formed police unit of up to 300 personnel.

The council authorized the immediate deployment of those additional capacities until Dec. 31, and expressed its intention to extend this authorization on the occasion of MONUC's mandate renewal, underlining that the duration of stay of the additional forces will depend on the security situation in the Kivus.

The council stressed that the temporary increase in personnel was aimed at enabling MONUC to reinforce its capacity to protect civilians, to reconfigure its structure and forces and to optimize their deployment.

It underscored the importance of MONUC implementing its mandate in full, including through robust rules of engagement.

The Security Council established MONUC to facilitate the implementation of the Lusaka Accord signed in 1999. With a budget exceeding 1 billion U.S. dollars, MONUC, which currently has over 17,000 troops, is the world's largest and most expensive peacekeeping operation.

(Xinhua News Agency November 21, 2008)