Conflict reveals flaws in U.N. peacekeeper force

'Blue Helmets'
A tank from the Congolese army careened into a wave of refugees fleeing fighting near Goma this week, killing three teenagers just down the road from a camp of Indian peacekeepers.

Unaware of the accident, the peacekeepers took no action as thousands of refugees streamed down the road past their base.

"Where are the 'Blue Helmets?'" the refugees demanded to know, referring to the peacekeepers' distinctive headgear.

When the U.N. troops learned of the accident from AP reporters at the scene and drove with them to investigate, they were stoned by angry civilians and forced to turn back before they reached the hastily dug graves of the victims.

Even before the latest eruption of violence, the peacekeepers' credibility was damaged by accusations of sexual abuse of local women, illegal gold trading and corruption.

Fueling the mission's problems, Congolese soldiers have tried to manipulate the U.N. force into attacking Nkunda's rebels by taking up positions near the peacekeepers' camps, then firing rockets, mortars and bombs at the rebels before beating a hasty retreat — leaving the peacekeepers to face the insurgents' counterattack.

Country in turmoil
All this in a country nearly a quarter the size of the U.S. that is struggling to recover from a devastating civil conflict that ousted longtime dictator Mobutu Sese Seko in 1997 and was followed by wars that drew in eight other African nations.

The U.N. renewed the Congo mission's mandate and expanded it in December 2007, empowering the peacekeepers to use force to disarm Nkunda's fighters, but saying they must give priority to protecting civilians.

In January, the mission was asked under a regional peace deal to police buffer zones to separate the Congo army from areas controlled by Nkunda's Tutsi rebels.

But they were also charged to work alongside the Congolese army to disarm Rwandan Hutu militiamen who fled to Congo after perpetrating the 1994 Rwandan genocide that killed half a million Tutsis. Complicating matters, these same militiamen had sometimes been used as irregular reinforcements in Congo's army, whose soldiers include many Hutus.

That mandate has caused Rwanda, Nkunda and at least one non-government organization to accuse the peacekeepers of aiding and abetting those behind the Rwandan genocide.

Nkunda said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press Thursday that he wants direct talks with the government to discuss security in the region, as well as his objections to a $5 billion deal that gives China access to the country's vast mineral riches in exchange for a railway and highway.

Demand for minerals has fueled Congo's conflicts for years, and experts say little has changed since a U.N. investigation concluded in 2001 that the fighting has been mainly about "access, control and trade" of five key resources: diamonds, copper, cobalt, gold and coltan, which is used in cell phones and laptops.

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