The European Union may send peacekeepers to the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Belgium's foreign minister said Monday.

"We are in agreement on the principle" of deployment, Louis Michel told a news conference in Kinshasa, as rebel troops fought government forces over a key city in the area.




Rebels loyal to a former military commander seized the city of Bukavu last week, demanding the fragile transitional government replace its military commander. As many as 90 people were killed, including United Nations peacekeepers.

The EU's ruling body hasn't commented on the deployment, which would be the union's second emergency military mission. In 2003, about 1,800 French peacekeepers were sent to help calm fighting in the Congolese city of Bunia.

The violence started in Bukavu last week, when rebels loyal to Col. Jules Mutebutsi seized the eastern city

Mutebutsi is a former rebel commander whose group joined a power-sharing government in 2003. Soldiers from other rebel groups in the government are being integrated into the country's new armed forces.

Mutebutsi's rebels say they will hand over control of the city if the government's new military commander is replaced. The rebels allege Brig.-Gen. Mbuza Mabe repressed ethnic Tutsis.

Government officials in Congo have accused Rwanda and its president, Tutsi Paul Kagame, of supporting the rebels and sending in fighters from Rwanda.

On Sunday, the UN removed the families of some of its 10,800 mission staff from the capital, Kinshasa. Angry mobs had gathered to demonstrate against the UN, which they say failed to protect Bukavu.

A UN spokesperson said they have not yet decided whether to order all non-essential staff to leave.

In July 1999, Congo, Angola, Namibia, Rwanda, Uganda and Zimbabwe signed the Lusaka ceasefire agreement to work toward peace in the war-torn region.