'No excuse' for ignoring Congo
Britain and France have called for urgent international action to prevent a humanitarian disaster in the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo.
In a joint statement to mark the end of their two-day visit to the region, Foreign Secretary David Miliband and his French counterpart Bernard Kouchner said there was "no excuse for turning away".
Gordon Brown, meanwhile, expressed concern that the Congo could be lurching towards a repeat of the 1994 genocide in neighbouring Rwanda in which up to a million people were killed.
"I am very concerned by the situation in the Congo," he told reporters during his tour of the Gulf states. "Thousands have been displaced. We must not allow Congo to become another Rwanda."
But despite the strong words, there was no call from either Britain or France to send European troops to the region to bolster the beleaguered United Nations peacekeeping force.
Foreign Office minister Lord Malloch-Brown disclosed that contingency plans were being prepared for the deployment of a European Union force, including a British contingent.
However, with UK forces already stretched fighting on two fronts in Afghanistan and Iraq, Mr Miliband was quick to pour cold water on the suggestion that British troops could soon be caught up in a new overseas entanglement.
Meanwhile, aid agencies warned that the situation on the ground was deteriorating as tens of thousands fled to escape the fighting and the threat of rape and murder by the various armed groups across the eastern Congo.
"The humanitarian situation here is completely out of control," said Alpha Sankoh, ActionAid's country director in the Congo. "Refugees are being targeted before our very eyes - we cannot allow this to continue. The protection of women and children is paramount - particularly as so many are on the move seeking safety."
In their statement, Mr Miliband and Mr Kouchner called for a strengthening of the current ceasefire around the eastern city of Goma and the opening of secure routes for the delivery of humanitarian aid. "There is no excuse for turning away," they said.
