Paris: France's Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and his British counterpart David Miliband were to head to the strife-torn Democratic Republic of Congo today, a French spokesman said.
Kouchner's spokesman, Eric Chevallier, told reporters in Paris that the pair would visit the Congolese capital Kinshasa and the eastern city of Goma, which is besieged by rebel forces.
In London, the Foreign Office said, "We never discuss travel arrangements for security reasons." Chevallier said the pair might also head on to Congo's neighbour Rwanda, for talks in Kigali, but that this was not yet confirmed.
"The mission will have several goals," Chevallier said. "The first is to carry a clear political message from Europe to demand that the situation stablise and the different actors agree to talk to each other more."
"The second is to get an update on the situation of the civilian population. Europe has decided to make an important contribution to the humanitarian effort in Goma."
"Thirdly, we will evaluate the security situation. In this regard, the goal is to study the security dynamic on the ground," he added, noting that the EU security committee was meeting in Brussels on the crisis.
Officials at the Brussels meeting were discussing whether to send troops on a humanitarian mission to Goma, where a UN peacekeeping garrison is facing off against a rebel army that has threatened to capture the city.
Tens of thousands of displaced civilians are trapped in the region, under threat from advancing rebel forces and rogue government troops, and Kouchner has urged his EU colleagues to mobilise a European battle group.
