In Africa, Pricking the West’s Conscience

A French-led peacekeeping force of 1,400 is expected to arrive in the Democratic Republic of the Congo later this week. The recent surge of violence in the Congo has raised fears that, unless action is taken immediately, another peacekeeping fiasco like the one in Rwanda might take place. The violence that plagues the DRC has made the delivery of aid (in food and medicine) very difficult, making hunger and disease leading causes of death. Ethnic tensions – from within and outside the DRC’s borders – have been major sources of conflict. U.N. peacekeeping forces, having already lost several of its members to the conflict, are emphatic about the dire need for intervention. – YaleGlobal