European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana was in the Democratic Republic of Congo's capital Kinshasa Sunday to hold talks on a proposed EU peacekeeping force expected in the country ahead of its landmark elections in June, reported dpa. Germany has agreed to lead a proposed EU force from some ten EU states to bolster 17,000 United Nations peacekeepers - the largest UN force in the world - in securing the vast central African country, especially in the volatile east and central regions during the June elections. Solana is expected to hold talks with President Joseph Kabila on the recently enacted electoral law setting the stage for the war torn country's first election in decades. DRCongo is arguably Africa's most mineral rich country, but has been plagued by misrule and conflict for most of its existence. Despite the official end in 2003 of a bloody five year conflict that roped in seven African countries, more than 1,000 people continue to die every day from hunger and disease in the country as large as Western Europe.
