Insecurity continues for the people who live in the world’s poorest country, the Democratic Republic of Congo. The largest UN peacekeeping contingent in the world is powerless to make any significant difference to the activities of the numerous different rebel groups, in spite of the fact that they have a Chapter Seven UN mandate, a mandate to use “all necessary means” to maintain security. The UN secretary general has issued a call for more troops.
The contending parties include the CNDP, a Tutsi militia led by General Nkunda, the FDLR, a Hutu militia, the Mai Mai, a pro-government militia, and the DRC army. There is money to be made from mining activities in the region, and so the motives of the different forces are often somewhat mixed. As is often the case in African conflicts, looting and random violence by the government army is at least as extensive as that wrought by rebel forces. Essentially anyone with a gun can help himself to anything he happens to fancy.
The UN forces are helpless in the circumstances. The “enemy” which they are supposed to be controlling is not a single force with a clear objective; it is a large number of independent operatives who have no obvious objectives other than their own short-term gain. The UN forces themselves are not a coherent group; they consist of small numbers of soldiers from 18 different nations. In the meantime, the ordinary citizens of the country suffer.