Blue-helmeted United Nations peacekeepers deployed in African countries may soon have a new tool in their arsenal: the surveillance drone.

Drones are heading to the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) as part of an intervention force to root out the rebel groups that have destabilized the region for years. Meanwhile, the UN is mulling the idea of unarmed drones sent to Ivory Coast as the country recovers from nearly a decade of civil unrest.

Experts say unarmed drones could give often-beleaguered peacekeepers an edge in missions where they can be outfoxed by guerrillas, who often have greater numbers and more local knowledge than UN forces possess.

bout time

The UN is going to have an intervention force along the border of the eastern old Zaire??? Ha! Makes me wonder if those fools have even seen a map of how many countries border the Congo. There is only one major border crossing at Bukavu where Rwanda and Burundi meet. North of that is the Ugandan border. These areas have never been policed let alone 'controlled' by anyone except by Mobutu's old Congolese army back in the 60's. Drones are not going to be of any real use there to spot any guerrilla bands roaming around. Any intervention forces will be under constant ambush or simply ignored and the fighters go around them. The only effective fighting forces in that area has been the French, Belgian and German soldiers fighting for the old Mobutu regime that hired European soldiers off and on. Where are the UN forces coming from, Finland and Sweden, complete with skis as they did back in the 60's when fighting against Katanga... Hundreds surrendered to one or two mercenary soldiers with dozens of tribal natives armed only with spears and machetes. The Africans just laughed at the UN idiots and will do so again. The wars will continue until all the borders are redrawn to suit the tribal traditional lands, not the fools back in NY or Brussels or Paris. Mineral exploitation was the root cause of the old colonial borders, not the welfare of the natives, but no one is interested in that...

Hundreds surrendered to one or two mercenary soldiers with dozens of tribal natives armed only with spears and machetes.