NEW YORK - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown says he will support a U.N. plan to send 3,000 more troops to Congo. But he told reporters the force must have better leadership and equipment.

The U.N. has a 17,000-strong peacekeeping force in Congo. But officials say more are needed to stop civilian deaths.

Brown arrived in New York Thursday ahead of weekend talks in Washington on the global financial crisis.

He will meet U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to discuss the escalation in violence in Congo, where civilian deaths have mounted and a cease-fire between government and rebel forces has broken down.