UN briefs African Union on deployment in troubled east of DR of CongoBy UN News Service | Published December 2, 2005A military delegation from the African Union (AU) has arrived in North Kivu in the troubled eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to assess the possible deployment of 7,000 troops to disarm foreign armed groups who have been attacking civilians, the UN Mission in DRC (MONUC) said. The AU delegation, which arrived on 18 November, has been briefed extensively by various experts, including MONUC's North Kivu Brigade and its section dealing with disarmament, demobilization, repatriation, reintegration and reinsertion (DDRRR). The FARDC does not yet have the capacity, given that the army is still in the process of integration. We will come, therefore, to bridge the gap between the two," AU delegation spokesperson Boubacar Diallo said. Sometime early next year, the AU would consider undertaking limited operations, based on solid intelligence, to disarm the remnants of foreign armed groups, he said.