European Union votes to send first peacekeeping mission outside Europe
Wednesday,June4,2003,9:23 AM
Brussels, Belgium-AP -- The fledgling European Union is taking an important new step on the international stage. E-U ambassadors are agreeing to the organization's first peacekeeping mission outside of Europe -- authorizing forces to go to the battle-torn nation of Congo.
France will lead a force of 14-hundred troops -- with the main group deploying this weekend.
The mission is a real test for the E-U. The Congo is an unstable region, full of warring factions which have killed 500 people in the last month alone.
The E-U soldiers will replace 750 U-N peacekeepers until the beginning of September, when another U-N force will arrive.
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