U.N. Urged To Cease Aid To Congo Regime Accused Of Horrific Acts -- Washington PostHuman Rights Watch cites surge in brutal killings and gang rapes.
NAIROBI -- The U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo is collaborating with known human rights abusers as it backs a brutal Congolese military operation that has led to the deliberate killing of at least 1,400 civilians and a massive surge in rapes, according to a report by Human Rights Watch.
The 183-page report, the fullest accounting so far of the operation, is a chronicle of horrors. It describes gang rapes, massacres, village burnings and civilians being tied together before their throats are slit -- many incidents carried out by a Congolese army being fed, transported and otherwise supported by the United Nations.
The report calls for the U.N. peacekeeping mission to "immediately cease all support" to the Congolese army until the army removes commanders with known records of human rights abuses and otherwise ensures the operation complies with international humanitarian laws.
My Comment: The solution to this conflict is simple .... more UN soldiers (many more), and more money.
Oh yeah ..... cough cough .... no one is in a position to send more soldiers, and the bank is (cough cough) empty.
Sigh .... this reminds me of the movie "A Bridge Too Far". During World War II the allies could not reach a group of Allied soldiers that had seized a crucial bridge .... they were just too far away.
The same can be said of the conflict in the Congo .... this is one war that is just too far away for us to intervene effectively. That if we look at it realistically .... we just do not have the means or resources to make a difference even if we try.