Saturday, November 15, 2008
Angola says it will send troops to help Congo govt
Angola announced that it is going to send troops next door to Congo. The number of troops being sent over has not yet been specified and it is not known if the troops will be supporting the government in fighting or acting as peacekeepers between the two groups. When there was fighting in Congo during 1998-2002 Angola stepped in and supported the government and fought against the rebels who were being supported by Rwanda and Uganda. There is fear that if troops from Angola go into Congo then it might provoke Rwanda. The reason that Congo asked Angola for help is that the rebels are getting very close to Goma, the capital. Reporters have claimed to see some troops from Angola there already. Many people have already been displaced by the fighting in Congo and civilians have had crimes committed against them by both groups. Rebel leader former general Laurnet Nkunda called a cease-fire on October 29th but fighting has continued. The situation there has become dire. Do you think that troops from Angola would help the situation or make it worse? It is a very fragile situation.
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2 comments:
I believe the troops from Angola would only make the situation worse. Like you said, it is uncertain weather or not the Angolan troops will act as peacekeepers or as supporters of the Congo government. And even if they do act as peacekeepers, as a neighboring country they will obviously act biased towards one side. I believe that outside troops in the Congo should be limited to those sanctioned by the United Nations. The situation is dire enough with the presence of excess troops, each with its own agenda. The UN is also concerned by the rebels' close proximity to the provincial capital of Goma, and is acting accordingly.
While Congo asked Angola to send troops, I think it was more a desperate cry for help to save their capital as opposed to a well-thought out move. I agree that sending troops would just make the situation worse and could drag more countries into the mess-with as fragile as the situation already is, I think outside countries that already have issues with neighboring countries could make it deteriorate much faster.
The article says it is unclear if the Angolan soldiers would be going to help a certain side or act as peacekeepers, but it is my guess that they would be siding with the Congolese government, since that is who asked them there. It is unclear in the article if Rwanda and Uganda would again back the rebels, or if these are new rebels with a different agenda. Either way, I think it would be best solved by either Congo using their own troops, or if need be, asking troops from a country that would not cause the neighboring countries of Congo to join in the fighting.
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