UNITED NATIONS — Canada will deploy two Hercules transport aircraft to the war-torn Congo for one month beginning in early June, along with 30 to 50 Canadian Forces personnel, a defence spokeswoman said Friday.

The air crew and some maintenance personnel will be re-assigned to Entebbe, Uganda, on June 7 from their current mission in the Persian Gulf supporting the war on terrorism, said Lieut. Diane Grover.

French peacekeepers and some French maintenance personnel will provide security and support for the mission, said Grover, adding no further information on potential Canadian involvement was available.

Also on Friday, the UN Security Council unanimously authorized the deployment of a French-led international force in northeastern Congo, where ethnic fighting has killed nearly 400 people.

The authorization to send an emergency force to the Ituri region came after more than two weeks of negotiations during which the United States and other council nations worked to meet French conditions regarding a force.

The crisis in the Ituri province of Congo began May 7 when Uganda withdrew more than 6,000 troops from Bunia who had been serving as part of an African-mediated peace accord.

Rival Lendu and Hema tribal groups fought for control of the town in street battles and UN officials said nearly 400 bodies have been found.

The international force to be deployed in northeastern Congo will be made up of 1,400 troops, French Defence Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said.

In remarks made public Friday, Alliot-Marie said the UN-backed intervention had also received troop pledges "in principle'' from Belgium, Germany, Spain, Italy and Britain.

She said Canada and South Africa may also make troops available if needed.

France's UN envoy, Jean-Marc de La Sabliere, said the first French soldiers start arriving in Bunia region next week and the force will be at its full strength by June.

The deployment, he stressed, was temporary and a Bangladesh-led UN force will take over in September after the emergency force had "stabilized'' the situation.

Washington will not be sending troops for the mission. Britain was likely to participate, but the exact composition of the force will be decided later.

France insisted that a multinational force be deployed temporarily and with a precise mandate.

The new force has a mandate to use its firepower to protect civilians and areas around Bunia, the site of the worst violence.

The existing monitoring force, although armed, is not allowed to fire on combatants or to protect civilians and can use its weapons only in self-defence or to defend UN bases.