France To Send 300 Special Forces To Congo

France is to send 300 special forces troops to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to provide training, the French ambassador said Wednesday.



"France will help the Congolese army to hunt down and neutralize the Ugandan Allied Democratic Forces rebels in the eastern part of the DRC," Ambassador Alain Remy said at a news conference in the northeastern city of Beni.



The Ugandan rebels and fighters from neighboring Rwanda, have carried out attacks in the eastern DRC that have left at least 450 dead since early last year, according to Human Rights Watch.



French forces will provide logistical support and counterterrorism training to the Congolese military, Remy said.



"France will be there to dissolve terrorism and help families displaced by war in the region," the ambassador added.



The country's east has been wracked by violence for the past two decades, much of it fuelled by Rwandan rebels as well as fighters opposed to Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni. - Demokratik Kongo Cumhuriyeti