Tuesday, October 13, 2009

UN Peacekeeping Forces Still a Bad Joke in Congo

The latest report from Congo, this time the eastern region, says that over 1,000 people have been killed since January, 7,000 women & girls have been raped, ,6000 homes burned down, and over 900,000 people "displaced." According to the article, a UN peacekeeping force has backed government operations in the region, targeting Hutu militiamen from Rwanda who are targeting civilians. But what is the government actually doing?

Congolese government soldiers also have targeted civilians through killings and widespread rape, looting, forced labor, and arbitrary arrests, the report said.
So the UN is supporting one side, even though that side is little better than the alternative. How is this in any way a "peacekeeping" operation?

Naturally the UN refused to comment. But the article notes that it has previously used the excuse that it just doesn't have enough troops. It will never have enough troops, let alone enough effective troops, to successfully intervene in a multi-faceted civil war. So what is it actually doing there? Why support the corrupt Congolese government and give them cover for slaughtering and otherwise abusing civilians?

1 comment:

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