The Bleeding Heart of Africa – the Congo
The humanitarian catastrophe in the eastern Congo seems to be reaching a climax, one of the many over the last fifty years.
The Congolese Army has fled from a rebel advance. The UN is using what forces it has, including helicopter gunships, to slow the rebels, Tutsis. North Kivu province, which borders Rawanda, has been the site of ethnic fighting for at least five years as a result of the genocidal acts that took place in Rawanda. The rebel factions are primarily made up of forces from the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP) and the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).
A blogger from the region reports:
It’s total chaos in Goma. I am being told, through various phone calls and text messages, that the army have now laid down their weapons at Kibumba, 12 miles north of Goma, and are fleeing the rebels. In other words they have totally given up.
Some of the soldiers are running/driving/zooming on motorbikes through town towards the west, Sake, and they are going past my house.
The governor of North Kivu has apparently also left town.
Now there is only the UN peacekeeping forces stopping Nkunda’s rebels from taking Goma.
There is lots and lots of speculation right now – and panic. I will keep you posted.
Current News:
- Fighting in Congo Approaches Goma
- Red Cross Intends to Boost Medical Teams in Goma
- Humanitarian Situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
I just completed an interview with a United States Army officer who was in Goma earlier in the year. I am trying to confirm what I heard him say. If I heard him correctly, it will be a shocker.
Table of contents for Congo
- The Congo, Belgium’s Eternal Shame
- The Bleeding Heart of Africa – the Congo
- Army Major Aids Congo Rebels
- China and Africa
- Small Ebola Outbreak in the Congo
