U.N. backs Congo emergency force
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U.N. peacekeepers already on the ground do not have a mandate to intervene.
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UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- The U.N. Security Council has voted to deploy a French-led international force to help stabilize the conflict in northeastern Congo.
The 15-0 vote Friday authorizes the deployment of a 1,000-strong interim force until September 1 in the town of Bunia, where there has been fierce ethnic and political strife.
Ethnic violence between the Hema minority and Lendu majority for control of the town has claimed hundreds of lives in recent weeks and created a refugee crisis.
Chaos has taken over in the Ituri province, where Bunia is located, since Ugandan troops pulled out in response to last year's accord which saw the end to the war in the country, formally known as the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In the resolution, the council says it is determined to promote the peace process and help establish a transitional government.
The measure demands that "all the parties to the conflict in Ituri and in particular Bunia cease hostilities immediately."
It condemns "the deliberate killing of unarmed U.N. personnel and humanitarian staff in Ituri and demands that the perpetrators be brought to justice."
The roughly 1,000-member force, termed an "interim emergency multinational force," would not be a U.N. peacekeeping force, but rather a grouping of nations, led by France and sanctioned by the Security Council, to work with the U.N. peacekeepers stationed there.
U.N. peacekeepers do not have a mandate to intervene in the conflict.
France's ambassador to the United Nations, Jean-Marc de la Sabliere, described the northeast Ituri region as "an emergency situation."
He said France had sought the support of neighboring African countries, Uganda and Rwanda, both of which had deep involvement in Congo's four-and-a-half year civil war.
Nigeria, South Africa and Pakistan are expected to contribute troops.
