Word: congoes
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...fighting in eastern Congo is such a war of all against all, of alliances that shift by the week, that it is almost impossible for the outside world to keep up. The latest twist came on Jan. 20, when 4,000 Rwandan troops invaded once more, apparently with the acquiescence of the Congolese government. Two days later, Rwanda stunned observers--many of whom had thought Nkunda was a Rwandan proxy--by advancing on Nkunda's forces and arresting...
...conflict may be is impossible to guess. There are signs that forces loyal to Nkunda are melting away in the wake of his arrest. But that still leaves myriad armed groups who know only the way of war--and who continue to prey upon the people of eastern Congo. It was precisely to deal with such disasters--and with leaders like Kabila and Nkunda--that in 2005 the U.N. World Summit adopted a set of principles called the responsibility to protect, or R2P. Intended to prevent a repeat of cataclysms like the one in Rwanda, when the world watched...
...even if you support the theory, there's the reality of implementing it. And to see that reality, Congo is the place to go. MONUC--the French acronym for the U.N. peacekeeping force of blue helmets and white vehicles in Congo--is the force tasked with getting R2P up and running. MONUC began work in 1999, years before R2P came into effect. But as the U.N.'s idea of peacekeeping evolved from deterrence and cease-fire-monitoring to peace-enforcing, so MONUC grew. It has the most aggressive peacekeeping mandate in U.N. history, one that includes "forcibly implementing" cease-fires...
...MONUC boss, admits, MONUC is also something of a test of good intentions. "R2P is a huge step forward in terms of the principle of international humanitarian intervention," he says. "But the question remains: How do we actually do it?" A recent trip I made to eastern Congo suggests that question is not yet answered...
...Congo is the land Rwanda left behind. At the border, the road turns from asphalt to mud and grit. Rwandan officials are famous for their incorruptibility, but Congolese immigration shook me down. Beyond lies the city of Goma, a sprawl of tin- and grass-roofed huts and refugee camps...