By Stephanie Gesselle
The Angolan government announced that they will be sending in troops to the Democratic Republic of Congo. According to sources, the Congolese soldiers have raped women, destroyed villages, and caused other chaos in the region. Georges Chicoty, Angola's deputy foreign minister, reported that the forces would be sent in and overseen by the European Union and The Southern African Development Community. This is the first major involvement from Angolan forces since the 1998-2003 conflict in the Congo. This prior conflict drew in forces from other governments such as that of Rwanda and Uganda.
The fighting is spurred by lingering tensions over the 1994 slaughter of ethnic Tutsis by majority Hutus in neighboring Rwanda. This devastating conflict left millions of fatalities. Rebel leader Gen. Laurent Nkunda declared a unilateral ceasefire on October 29, but this has failed. Monday and Tuesday, brought about looting and conflict, including increased violence in the capitol city of Goma. Both the government and rebel soldiers have been accused of violating this ceasefire in various instances and have left several hundred more citizens dead and injured. The Congolese soldiers reportedly looted the village late Monday where they proceeded to rape several women and destroy th village. Since then the U.N. Children's Fund has sent over 29 tons of aid to Goma. in addition the U.N. has since been sending in large amounts of fresh water, food, and medical equipment to the area.
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