Soldiers, UN retreat as rebels advance in Congo

What a headline by Michelle Faul, Associated Press Writer!

KILIMANYOKA, Congo — Rebels advanced toward Congo’s eastern provincial capital of 600,000 people Tuesday, sending tens of thousands of terrified civilians into a makeshift shelter as Congolese troops and U.N. tanks retreated.

In Kibati, a few miles from the front line, young men lobbed rocks Tuesday at three U.N. tanks also heading away from the battlefield. The U.N. has 17,000 U.N. peacekeepers in Congo — the biggest mission in the world.

“What are they doing? They are supposed to protect us,” said Jean-Paul Maombi, a 31-year-old nurse from Kibumba.

Indeed, Jean-Paul Maombi, “What are they doing?” Indeed…

Comments

  1. GregS says:

    On a related topic, last Friday was United Nations Day.

    So, in order to honor the UN, I spent the day doing nothing.

  2. My first thought when I read the headline was “isn’t the correct word for UNretreat attack?”

    Still pretty sad situation when the UN won’t confront a bunch yahoos most likely toting 40 year old AKs and machete’s.

  3. mindy abraham says:

    The difference between OUR soldiers and THEIR “soldiers”? Ours do NOT retreat

  4. jordan says:

    Our likely next president has complete faith in the UN, and U.S. security will increasingly be tied to the UN political agenda.

  5. ben says:

    Just think, with Obama as CIC, we’ll finally be getting rid of the black beret… and maroon, tan and green, so we can standardize on the new blue UN helmets.

    Perfect time to ETS, baby!