DRC UPDATE

I get the sense that not enough people are paying attention to this, and quite frankly, you really should. The latest reality TV craze can wait. Pay attention to this. Here's today's update:

1. UN troops were sent to defend civilians in the town of Bunia.

A military spokesman, Colonel Gerard Dubois, said Friday, troops were sent to defend the population from the reported attack about five kilometers outside the base. Details on the fighting were not immediately available.

Let's hope they were successful.

2.The European Union says the French-led force cannot intervene beyond Bunia.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The French commander of a European Union peacekeeping operation in Congo conceded on Friday that the force would not be able to stop ethnic bloodshed if it happened outside its limited area of operation.
Responding to an appeal from the United Nations, the EU is deploying around 1,400 troops to the eastern town of Bunia -- where hundreds of people have been massacred in tribal clashes -- in what will be its first military operation outside Europe.

But analysts fear ethnic violence may simply shift to other areas, leaving the EU peacekeeping operation looking irrelevant.

Thus the horror will continue. Bastards.

3. The German Cabinet approved sending 350 German troops to the DRC.

The German cabinet approved sending troops to Uganda to assist United Nations peacekeepers seeking to curb violence and ethnic fighting over land in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Some 350 German soldiers will assist French troops in Congo by providing logistical and medical help from Uganda, Defense Minister Peter Struck told radio broadcaster Deutschlandfunk earlier today.

The lower house of parliament will next week vote on whether German troops should join the peacekeeping force. The operation may begin immediately after the parliamentary approval and continue until the end of August, said Bela Anda, the government's chief spokesman.

Good start, not enough.

4. EU troops find their hands are tied. They can't do a damned thing.

One week after the first French troops arrived the first rapid reaction intervention by the EU alone is in danger of being a toothless failure, observers say. If it is not allowed to leave Bunia it will hardly see the slaughter in the province, much less stop it. If unable to intervene in fighting it will not prevent the civilian massacres that invariably follow.

Again, bastards.

WHAT I WANT TO SEE HAPPEN

I feel I must be absolutely clear, because watching this African Holocaust occur, and that's precisely what it is, has me enraged. I want an overwhelming multinational military force to go in there and pacify the region. I want those child soldiers disarmed and put in schools. I want schools built. I want infrastructure created. I want absolutely everything we're doing for the Iraqis done for the Congolese. And I want it done real soon. Preferably now. Why the hell do I feel like I'm screaming into the wind? Sending troops is a start, but troops without a mandate is not. I also want near constant media attention. Every day, we hear about some partisan scandal. Or we hear about some high-profile murder case. Meanwhile, millions of people are dying! Where's the compassion?

I am drawing the line here.

I will be blogging about the Congo daily, sometimes twice daily. I suggest people start passing this on. I know I am.