:
Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire)
July 16, 2007: European Union advisers working with
the Congolese police now estimate it will take up to ten years to build a
reliable police force. EU advisers
describe the Congolese police and security forces as a patchwork made of old
militias and "local units" (which often means tribal security forces). The
Congo government doesn't know for sure how many policemen it has. Estimates
range form 70,000 to 100,000. That is a real command and control problem.
July 13, 2007: The UN is investigating new
allegations that UN peacekeepers in the Congo have engaged in smuggling
minerals. This time a group of Indian peacekeepers are involved in what may be
a gold smuggling operation. The allegation says the peacekeepers accused of
smuggling were dealing with Rwandan Hutu militia leaders operating in the
Congo.
July 8, 2007: The UN has begun a new training
program for the Congolese Army (FARDC) in North and South Kivu provinces. The
new program will run through September 2009. The UN intends to train a total of
23,000 new Congolese soldiers. Units and personnel will rotate through the
training course in three-month long cycles. The UN statement said that the
training involves both :tactical and ethical" issues. Basic soldiering skills
will be stressed. UN evaluators have seen Congolese Army units first hand and
many have never had any kind of basic training