Brown supports more U.N. troops for Congo

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Britain backs the deployment of up to 3,000 more U.N. troops in the Democratic Republic of Congo and peacekeepers should intervene "robustly" to safeguard civilians, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Thursday.

"We have the means and the will to prevent a human catastrophe and we must not shirk from our responsibilities," Brown said on his way to a meeting with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. "The conflict in the DRC must be the Security Council's top priority."

The U.N. Security Council is expected to approve a request to boost the 17,000-member peacekeeping force already in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Weeks of violence have forced more than 250,000 people to flee their homes or ramshackle camps, pushing the number of internal refugees from years of conflict above 1 million.

Fighting between Tutsi rebels and pro-government troops and militias has subsided into sporadic clashes as African leaders press both sides to avoid a regional war.

Brown will tell the United Nations that any solution to the conflict must be political and that Britain's support for more troops would be subject to them being "properly led and equipped."

"It must be mandated to intervene robustly to protect civilians," Brown said.

(Reporting by Matt Falloon; Editing by John O'Callaghan)