U.N. Picks Italian Drones for Landmark DR Congo Mission

The United Nations said Thursday it had ordered its first unarmed surveillance drones from an Italian company to patrol volatile regions of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

The announcement was made as tensions rise again around the major eastern city of Goma where the DR Congo army and U.N. peacekeepers set up a weapons-free security zone on Thursday.

If the trial is successful in DR Congo, where the drones will also be used to monitor the borders with Rwanda and Uganda, they could also be used in South Sudan, Ivory Coast and other U.N. missions.

U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said deployment of the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), to be provided by Selex ES, a subsidiary of the Italian giant Finmeccanica, is planned "in coming weeks."

Nesirky said the medium-altitude FALCO drone was "capable of carrying a range of payloads, including several types of high-resolution sensors."

With the use of the drones making several countries nervous, the spokesman stressed that "its payload does not include weapons."

"The use of UAVs, unarmed, will allow our peacekeepers in DR Congo to better monitor the movements of armed groups and protect civilian populations more efficiently," Nesirky added.

The DR Congo army and U.N. peacekeepers have been battling rebels in the east of the country for more than one year. According to U.N. experts, the M23 rebels have received support from neighboring Rwanda. The Rwandan government strongly denies the charge.