the Mai-Mai and their allies", and received reports of "another 25 deaths, although ongoing insecurity has made it impossible to verify all such information." On December 12, EU ministers remained divided on the issue of sending reinforcements; current president and French president Nicolas Sarkozy questioned the request, saying that it would be a better decision to draw troops from neighbouring countries instead of the distant EU. He declared, "It is not that from Europe we don't wish to participate, but ... isn't it better to draw on regional forces first of all, who are all pretty well ready to go?" Sarkozy cited the example of Angola, a regional power, who had earlier declared that they would support the Congolese government, and who the UN had alleged were already involved. Sarkozy also questioned the decision to reinforce MONUC peacekeepers, asking whether the extra 3,000 soldiers requested would be able to stop the conflict, saying "There are 17,000 UN soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is the biggest ever operation and only 800 are doing a useful job. Why send another 3,000?" High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana will meet with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on December 15 at the United Nations Headquarters to discuss the issue further. Sweden, Spain and Belgium were the only members of the 27-member committee to support the motion. Solana will also bring humanitarian, political and military proposals in front of the EU ministers to help bring peace and stability to the region. Solana's previous proposals included a separate EU military force, European troops in the region, and require troops to make roads and airports safe. Refugee camps The humanitarian effort was reported to be far underfunded, as thousands of refugees returned to rebel-held territory rather than stayed in the U.N.-governed camps. This was reported to be due to the lack of food, water and hygiene facilities. The UN-operated World Food Program began delivering hundreds of tons of food to the Congo on November 14, along with medical supplies and water purification kits. Congo Red Cross Secretary-General Jacques Katshitshi reported the situation as extremely impoverished, with "Displaced people [living] in extremely difficult conditions" and "a lack of food and water, and [terrible] hygiene conditions." He stated that cases of malnutrition had been reported even within UN refugee camps. The rations were said to cover approximately 50,000 people, providing them with one-month