Wednesday 14 October 2009

Meanwhile in Africa...


Campaign groups are trying to raise the profile of recent events in the Democratic Republic of Congo where a United Nation’s backed offensive in the eastern part of the county is having disasterous consequences. A report by the Congo Advocacy Commission suggests that one civilian has been killed, seven women raped and nine hundred people displaced for every rebel FDLR (Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda) soldier disarmed by current UN offensive.

Between 1998 and 2003 as many as 5.2 million civilians have died in the Congo, making this conflict the bloodiest since the second world war.

The US is heavily involved in funding and training the Congolese army.

British companies previously implicated in exploiting the conflict include Afrimex.

Woking Labour MP Gillian Merron stated on behalf of Her Majesties Government in January 2009 that:

“We fully support the mandate of the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC), which was renewed by UN Security Council resolution 1856 (2008) on 22 December 2008”.

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