UNITED NATIONS,?13 Aug 2005 ?(Reuters) - The U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo may have to cut back on military operations or election preparations unless it gets a quick cash infusion, U.N. officials said on Friday.

The U.N. operation in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the world body's biggest peacekeeping mission, is sounding out the 15-nation U.N. Security Council on whether it can get around the cash crunch by tapping $103 million earmarked in the budget for election support but not yet approved for spending.

A draft resolution put forward by France would clear the way for the money to be spent.

But because the resolution also authorises an additional 841 police officers for the Congo mission, it must be cleared with the U.S. Congress before the council can vote on it -- a procedure that normally would delay a vote until September 6 at the earliest, council members said.

U.S. lawmakers have an advance say over all U.N. troop commitments because the United States is the United Nations' biggest dues payer and is assessed more than a quarter of the cost of U.N. peacekeeping.

Council diplomats and U.N. peacekeeping officials said they were now working on a way around the impasse so that the funds could be unblocked faster.

"It's pretty urgent. The 6th of September, under the circumstances, is going to be too late," said one council diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity because the talks aimed at resolving the matter are taking place in private.

The Congo mission's budget was nearly $1 billion for the fiscal year ending June 30, making up nearly a quarter of the total U.N. peacekeeping budget for the period.

The mission is helping implement a 2003 peace agreement ending a five-year civil war in Congo that has killed an estimated 4 million people and is still simmering in the country's mineral-rich east.

Under the peace deal, a transitional government was installed to govern until elections could be held.

The elections, which would be the first in the country in 45 years, have not yet been scheduled but must take place by June 30, 2006, at the latest.

After many delays, voter registration has finally begun.

But extending the registration drive depends on the U.N. mission delivering election materials to 166 locations in a country roughly the size of Western Europe.

The mission plans to lease equipment to accomplish this. But because it cannot yet draw down the needed funds, it has begun reassigning helicopters normally assigned to combat operations to get the job off the ground, officials said.

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