The United Nations says preparations are underway for an offensive against the rebels in the troubled eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

 According to Press TV, the UN peacekeeping Chief Herve Ladsous told reporters on Thursday that the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) would carry out unilateral operations to drive out the Hutu militia based in eastern DR Congo.

He made the remarks following a closed-door meeting of the UN Security Council (UNSC) in New York.

Media outlets quoted Ladsous as saying “The Security Council has empowered us to act unilaterally. We are planning to that effect.”

This comes as the rebels calling themselves the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) had been given until January 2 to turn themselves in or face an offensive by the UN and Congolese troops. Over 80 FDLR rebels surrendered in early January, but nearly 1,500 to 2,000 others are expected to still be in the remote jungles of the eastern DRC.

However, a dispute over the inclusion of Congolese forces, with allegedly shady human right records, in the military operation against the FDLR has kept the DRC forces from launching a coordinated offensive against the rebels.