By Louis Charbonneau UNITED NATIONS, Oct 24 (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council will likely authorize deployment of some special forces and new military hardware to help U.N. troops better protect civilians from increasing violence in Congo, diplomats said. Earlier this month Alan Doss, head of the U.N. mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC), asked the Security Council for more troops, including forces with special skills and training, as well as drones and other military hardware that can improve MONUC's intelligence gathering capabilities. Doss's request was in response to heavy fighting between government forces and Tutsi rebels led by renegade General Laurent Nkunda, which erupted in Congo's North Kivu province nearly two months ago, dealing a serious blow to an eight-month peace process in the province. Several diplomats on the council told Reuters the 15-nation body was almost certain to approve Doss's request for some special forces and additional military hardware. It was not clear what kind of special forces Doss wanted, though one U.N. official said they would not be "Hollywood-style" hit-and-run combat units. Security Council diplomats also said that Doss might be able to convince the council to temporarily lift the ceiling on the number of troops in MONUC, though some of the 15 member states might require some heavy persuasion. With 17,000 troops and police, MONUC is the largest U.N. peacekeeping force in the world. WORSENING VIOLENCE IN EASTERN CONGO The council's willingness to consider Doss's request for more resources for MONUC at a time when U.N. peacekeeping resources are stretched thinly shows how worrisome the situation in eastern Congo has become, diplomats say. "For the moment we approved the restructuring within the current ceiling of troops," French Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert told reporters on Thursday. "He wants some more intelligence (capabilities), he wants some special forces and he wants some more tactical support," he said. "We will consider that." Ripert said the final decision on whether and how to strengthen and expand the mission will likely fall in two months, when the council plans to renew MONUC's mandate. In the meantime, the council unanimously agreed to ask U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to provide it with specific recommendations on what MONUC needs. Congo has made clear it would like MONUC's capabilities strengthened as soon as possible to help deter what it sees as an increased threat from Nkunda and from neighboring Rwanda, which Kinshasa accused of making an incursion into Congolese territory earlier this month. Kigali denied the allegation. In addition to hardware like unmanned drones, which can be used to track down militants across the vast expanse of eastern Congo, U.N. officials and council diplomats say it is important for MONUC to have highly trained soldiers at its disposal that can be mobilized quickly and are not afraid of a firefight. There have been reports of MONUC peacekeepers fleeing from firefights, several diplomats and U.N. officials said. "You need to have some troops who are not afraid of an occasional bullet whizzing past them," one official said. (Editing by Jackie Frank)
A farmer watches his sheep grazing near a power plant on the outskirts of Changzhi, Shanxi province October 24, 2008. China's greenhouse gas pollution could double or more in two decades ...
