Peacekeeping: February 24, 2005

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The UN is getting more into peace making, rather than the usual peacekeeping. Case in point is the Congo, where the UN is moving in several brigades of troops, and is setting up the equivalent of a division headquarters to coordinate all the military efforts. Nearly a decade of chaos in the Congo has left several million dead (no one is sure how many have perished from violence, disease or starvation). The UN has been accused of sending peacekeepers there to just stand around and watch as more mayhem takes place. Apparently the new headquarters will allow UN peacekeepers to be moved around more aggressively, and, in effect, sent into combat with rebel, or Congolese army, units that refuse to stop their depredations.