Written question asked by Mark Oaten (Liberal Democrat) on Monday, 16 March 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 19 March 2009. It was answered by Baroness Merron (Labour) on Monday, 30 March 2009 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Armed Conflict

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what military involvement the United Nations has had in co-ordination with Congolese and Rwandan troops during their joint operation against the Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda.

Answer: [holding answer 19 March 2009]: During the operations against the Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda (FDLR) militia, UN peace keepers contributed logistical support to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) army and assisted members of the FDLR in disarming and returning to Rwanda. The UN mission in the DRC (MONUC) made a team of military officers available to assist in planning the operations. Although the operations bore some successes, MONUC was less fully involved than we would have wished in planning and carrying them out. Our ambassador in Kinshasa called for co-ordination of the operations with MONUC, both publicly and in consultation with the DRC Government. We made clear our position that the operations should take proper account of humanitarian law and civilian protection.

Secondary information