EngRegional
UN troops turn against civilians they are supposed to protect in DRC
After
the M23 rebels seized the strategic town of Shasha on February 3, things turned
upside down in the volatile east of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Shasha
is located about only 33 kilometers southwest of the city of Goma, capital of
North Kivu Province. In a rapid advance, M23 rebels went further to capture
Kihindo, Kituva, Bukobati and Nyamubingwa settlements.
The Congolese
army and the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the country, MONUSCO, had
spent almost a year building defenses for the town, which sits at a very key
junction linking several roads to Goma.
In a
bid to neutralize the rebels’ advance, the blue helmets jointly with Congolese
government forces deployed heavily in Sake town where innocent civilians were buried
by MONUSCO’s blind bombardments.
The UN
mission joined the Congolese army coalition which has troops from the southern
African regional bloc, SAMIDRC, Eastern European mercenaries, Burundian
soldiers, Rwandan genocidal militia, FDLR, and several other Congolese militia
groups, to kill civilians who it is mandated to protect.
The
mission’s core mandate is to protect civilians but despite their presence, over
260 local and foreign armed groups are operating in the country, often
targeting civilians, despite MONUSCO's mandate to protect them.
The UN
peacekeepers have consistently failed the Congolese population.
As if that
is not all, the UN peacekeepers have openly joined in in the fighting against
M23 rebels who are fighting for the rights of their persecuted and disowned
community to be recognized as legitimate citizens with full rights as any other
Congolese nationals.
In his
three-day visit from February 2 to 5, to the eastern DRC, the deputy secretary
general of the UN in charge of peace operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix emphasized
the availability of blue helmet to support the SADC mission deployed in the
country.
“We
also expressed our availability so that MONUSCO can provide support to the
mission of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in the DRC, the
SAMIDRC,” he said.
The
UN’s mandate in DRC is to protect Congolese civilians and disarm armed
militias, not supporting the killings and fighting against M23 rebels, who are
Congolese citizens as well.
