The United Nations is eager to see a replacement peacekeeping force for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in place around the troubled city of Bunia by August 15, a top UN official said.

A 3 800-member force provided by Bangladesh is due to take over by September 1 from an emergency French force deployed to Bunia.

However, the United Nations wants a two-week handover period.

"All efforts are being made to ensure that the second task force will be deployed in Bunia by August 15, to allow a two-week handover with the International Emergency Multinational Force (IEMF)," said Jean-Marie Guehenno, the UN under-secretary general for peacekeeping operations.

Guehenno told the UN Security Council that "the deployment of a strong multinational force in Bunia has begun to change the balance between the warring parties and legitimate politic actors in that area.

"The main beneficiaries are the thousands of civilians who may finally be able to return to their homes and resume their lives in conditions of security".

France sent 700 troops to Bunia on June 11 following an emergency request from the United Nations.

The mandate of the current UN force (Monuc) runs out at the end of July and the security council is debating whether to extend the powers of the force and increase its numbers.

Guehenno said it was "vital" for a force that is "robustly configured and positioned so that it can build on the current stabilising presence of the IEMF".

The UN official said there was a "total breakdown of law and order" in the Ituri region, which takes in Bunia, which "means that no one (...) is in fact accountable for their actions".

"There cannot be any real peace without an end to impunity.

"I wish to invite the Security Council to consider additional steps must be considered, that help the capacity of the DRC authorities to bring to justice those who are accountable".

The Human Rights Watch (HRW) group called Monday for UN-mandated troops in the Ituri region to be allowed to use force to protect local civilians.

A new mandate must be one "that allows for the robust use of force by Monuc troops in protection of the civilian population throughout the DRC," it said in a report.

Anneke Van Woudenberg of the group's Africa division, said "fighting is continuing outside the city," where soldiers from the UN mission are not allowed to intervene and where HRW says its mandate is "too weak".

The group calls on the governments of Uganda, Rwanda and the DRC to end their military, financial and other assistance to groups involved in the massacres of some 50 000 victims in Ituri since 1999. - Sapa-AFP.