01 November 2008

UNeffective? ~ Peacemaking Challenge in Kivu

I do not understand all the socio-political forces at play in the Kivu region of eastern Congo near Rwanda. But the various rebel and government fighting forces have caught unfortunate civilians in the cross-fire, triggering mass fleeing, as shown in the London Times... Some of the refugees have made or acquired some interesting transportation, these push-cycles, for instance... One of the real tragedies of the situation is that the UN Peacekeepers are vastly outnumbered and with limited mandate, and are thus overwhelmed and unable to do much good. But the promise of protection implicit in their presence means the refugees are now blaming the UN...

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