As Congo Rebels Advance, Civilians Target U.N.

By Grant Swanson

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, civilians began attacking UN offices today. The civilians are angry at the UN, claiming it has not done enough to protect them. The problem UN peacekeeping forces are encountering is that there are over 8 million civilians in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Also, the terrain is tropical and covered in forests. For these reasons, it is virtually impossible for the limited peacekeeping forces to protect all of the civilians from the powerful rebel forces. I found it very interesting that the rebel forces are lead by a Tutsi General: Laurent Nkunda. His goals are to have a political discussion with Congo’s current leaders to gain power, allow Tutsi minorities refugees stranded in Rwanda to return, and to shut down the Hutu militia who got away with the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. These demands do not seem irrational to me. In fact, as an outsider, I feel that the general has a point. But the fact that he is resorting to such violent measures is terrible. If only the UN could have sat down with the General and reached a compromise, we may not have had such violence today!