International Community Begins to Respond to Congo Fighting

The plea for soldiers to take part in a United Nations-sponsored multinational force went out last week.

After more than two weeks of brutal fighting in the northeastern province of Ituri in the Democratic Republic of Congo, U.N. member states finally look ready to send in back-up to the round 600 lightly-armed peacekeepers already in the region.

France sent a reconnaissance team to the former Belgian colony over the weekend to scout out the nuts and bolts of a possible troop deployment. The team met with UN officials on Sunday in the capital of Kinshasa, in the far west of the country, to give their report.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair said his government is considering a request by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan last week to contribute to a multinational security force. Germany, which has so far pledged no troops, is sending Deputy Assistant Foreign Minister Kerstin Müller on a tour of the region this week to assess the situation.

Stops include Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Congo, where she will meet with government officials, aid organizations and U.N. officials to assess the situation. A spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry told DW-WORLD Germany was taking part in U.N. and European Union discussions on a possible multinational force, but wouldn't say whether the country would take part.

"We support the efforts of the U.N. to expand the mandate of the current peacekeepers," the spokesperson said.

Kids with guns, town a virtual battleground

International military aid couldn't come at a more crucial time. Fighting between rival Lendu and Hema militias over the mineral-rich area killed hundreds and injured and displaced tens of thousands.

The town of Bunia has been particularly hard hit. The United Nations discovered more than 300 bodies following fighting between the militia, including those of two U.N. observers. Horror photos of children toting AK 47s and dismembered bodies have circulated in the international media. More than 80 percent of the town's estimated 150,000 residents have fled the town during the two weeks of fighting.

The U.N. Human Rights Commissioner fears the fighting could spark a "second Rwanda," yet another inter-ethnic genocide in the region. Already, more than 2.5 million have died during fighting in the unstable republic in recent years, according to the United Nations.

Congo brings instability to the region

Conflicts between Congolese rebels and government troops in the late 1990s, involved soldiers from surrounding Uganda, Rwanda, Angola, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Chad and Sudan. Though peace pacts and cease fires were signed, it was not until the son of assassinated former rebel leader turned president Laurent Kabila took power in 2001 that hopes for a long-lasting peace in the Central Africa region began to materialize.

Small-time skirmishes continued, but none with the scope of the current conflict. The two warring factions began fighting when Ugandan troops withdrew as part of a peace deal earlier this month.

"There were always battles over land in the past, that also involved violence," said Stefan Mair, the Africa specialist at the German Institute for Security and International Affairs. "But it never had the dimensions of the past years."

Aid officials assess the situation

A temporary cease-fire signed by warring factions in Tanzania last week has brought a tense calm to the province.

The way is temporarily clear for U.N. officials to assess the possibility of bringing aid to the impoverished region early this week. Though aid workers have managed to restore water and electricity in Bunia, the area remains too dangerous for a comprehensive distribution program.

Workers reported Monday that armed militia had ransacked a hospital, making off with 10,000 yellow fever and tuberculosis vaccines.