Belgium will send 44 troops to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to evaluate the performance of the country's new national army, the Belgian media reported on Saturday.

The Belgian personnel will carry out the evaluation in cooperation with the United Nations (UN) as well as other African and European countries, Belgian Defense Minister Andre Flahaut was quoted as saying on Friday.

Belgium has helped train the Congolese national army, which comprises former government troops and former rebels.

Upon getting the evaluation results, the European Union (EU) will decide whether it is to make further investment in the training of the Congolese Army.

The 16,000-strong UN peacekeeping operation in the DRC, the largest UN peacekeeping mission in the world, mainly consists of troops from African and Asian countries.

The UN force is trying to maintain calm as the Central African nation tries to establish a working government following last year's election, its first free election since independence from Belgium in 1960.

Source: Xinhua