EU FORCE FOR CONGO ELECTIONS TO STANDBY IN GABON

C O N F I D E N T I A L LIBREVILLE 000257 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/21/2016 TAGS: MARR PREL PGOV GB CG SUBJECT: EU FORCE FOR CONGO ELECTIONS TO STANDBY IN GABON REF: PARIS 1776 Classified By: DCM Katherine Dhanani. Reason: 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (SBU) The standby component of the EU force to bolster security during the DRC's June elections will be based in Franceville, Gabon, according to German Ambassador Ilsa Lindemann. Less than 250 miles from Kinshasa, Franceville features a former French military base now used by the Gabonese air force, and good transportation links to Port Gentil and Libreville. An advance team, consisting of ten German and two French military officers and a German civilian, will visit Libreville and Franceville the week of April 24 to prepare for a late May deployment. ¶2. (C) The two-diplomat German Embassy in Libreville is hard-pressed to support the mission and is somewhat distressed that information about the force remains sketchy. Germany relied on French support in Libreville and Franceville for a previous advance team, but as of April 20 the French Embassy in Libreville had received no instructions and felt itself unauthorized to support the team arriving April 24. The understanding in Libreville is that the overall EU force of about 1500 will include 500 German troops. Lindemann understands that most of the force will be based in Kinshasa, with about 400 troops (mostly German) on call in Franceville to respond to emergencies. (This conflicts with press reports that suggest the bulk of the force will remain on standby outside of DRC while 500 or fewer deploy to Kinshasa.) Command of the main force on the ground in Kinshasa will be French, while Germany will host and command the brigade's headquarters in Potsdam. ¶3. (SBU) Ambassador Lindemann also noted: --The UNSC is expected to pass a French sponsored resolution April 21 defining the relationship between the EU force and MONUC. --The force is a mission of the EU member states, rather than of the Union, and no decision has been made concerning what it will be called. --The German legislature has not yet voted to authorize German participation. WALKLEY