Congo: U.N. Leader on Peace Mission

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/24/world/africa/congo-un-leader-on-peace-mission.html

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The United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, arriving just hours after a rebel group halted fighting to allow his visit to proceed, said Thursday that security must go hand in hand with development in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s eastern city of Goma. The Security Council authorized the creation of an intervention brigade, which will be based in Goma and will have an aggressive mandate allowing the peacekeepers to engage the M23 rebels stationed just north of the city. “The intervention brigade being deployed within the U.N. peacekeeping operation is designed to bring added stability and protect civilians,” Mr. Ban said. “But that is only one element of a much larger political process. A peace deal must deliver a peace dividend: health, education, jobs, opportunity.” He traveled to Congo with the World Bank president, Jim Yong Kim, who pledged $1 billion to aid countries in the region. On Monday, the rebels resumed fighting after a truce lasting nearly six months.