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French troops take first steps in war-torn Congo
To the echo of gunfire, French troops began patrolling Bunia, the north-eastern capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, yesterday, leading the first joint-European military intervention in the most violent theatre of Congo's war. Some 50 French soldiers padded through the suburbs, deserted and smoking after a battle between the rival Hema and Lendu tribes on Saturday. The patrols followed a show of French strength late on Saturday, when an advance guard of 100 special forces occupied Bunia's main road for an hour, sparking an angry confrontation with the incumbent Hema militia, the Union of Congolese Patriots. "It was an important gesture," said the colonel commanding the French force, who asked not to be named. "I wanted them to know that we control this route, and we will use it as and when we want. "Nobody gestures like us French!". "Today was different. I told my men to be less aggressive, to keep their guns lowered... Our mandate is very clear: it tells us to protect civilians and to respond to any aggression with the appropriate force." Another important gesture, perhaps? That mandate appears unlikely to end the war in Bunia, which has claimed 50,000 lives so far, and is only one of a dozen micro-conflicts raging in eastern Congo, stirred by four years of anarchic occupation by Rwandan and Ugandan forces. As fighting raged around the main UN compound on Saturday, grenades and bullets swept over the heads of several thousand refugees. At least three people were injured, yet the French troops remained at their barracks, two miles away. Their mandate, the colonel said, did not allow him to intervene. "If civilians are being massacred, we have to stop it. But if there are just a few civilians killed in fighting between armed groups, that's not our job."
The French troops arrived in Bunia on Friday to secure the town's decrepit airport in advance of a 1,400-strong European force sent to pacify the area in preparation for the arrival of Bangladeshi UN peacekeepers in September. The French soldiers are not allowed to reveal their names or regiment, but their accents - including one trooper's thick Scottish brogue - suggested they include many from the Foreign Legion. How about looking at their uniforms, or is that too easy? It remained uncertain yesterday when the main force will arrive, or which European countries would contribute. Britain, Sweden, Norway, Belgium and Germany all expressed an interest after a massacre last month exposed the way Bunia's existing 700 Uruguayan peacekeepers were outnumbered. Five British military planners reconnoitred Bunia on Friday, but it is not known what role any UK troops would play. If you are smart, you'll stay as far away from this disaster as possible. Posted by: Steve 2003-06-09 |
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