UN wants new troops and night-vision for Congo

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is seeking additional resources to strengthen the peacekeeping force in Congo with "intervention" troops, night-vision equipment, surveillance drones with cameras, and enhanced river patrols.

U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky told reporters Wednesday that Ban sent a letter to the Security Council on Dec. 27 outlining the proposals, which are aimed at improving the protection of civilians from armed groups in Congo's vast mineral-rich eastern region. The area has been engulfed in fighting since the 1994 Rwanda genocide.

U.N. diplomats said Ban is expected to send a report to the council later this month with specific recommendations for additional troops — possibly as many as 2,000 — that would actively intervene, for example, to prevent another takeover of the key eastern city of Goma.