Yesterday, MONUSCO announced it was training and arming FARDC to man drones and utilize heavy artillery. So far, hundreds of FARDC, Wazalendo and FDLR are said to have benefitted from the training, which is taking place in the Ituri region.
The same MONUSCO that has spent over US$ 20 billion over a quarter of a century pretending to keep peace in DR Congo is now proudly upgrading the firepower of an army that has repeatedly turned its guns on civilians. In a country where the line between “national army” and “militia” has long disappeared, MONUSCO’s latest mission is nothing short of dangerous complicity.
The drones and heavy weapons are not being used to protect any civilian. In Minembwe and Mikenke, they have already brought new waves of horror, bombing densely populated areas of Banyamulenge under the pretext of “operations against rebels.”
The moment people wanted MONUSCO to do good, to protect civilians, to hold the army accountable, they chose instead to train the very people terrorizing the population. This is not peacekeeping, it’s partnership in war crimes.
The absurdity is unimaginable because MONUSCO’s official mandate talks about neutralizing, disarming, and repatriating foreign armed groups, including the FDLR. Yet here they are, arming and training alongside the same genocidal force. The same FDLR whose presence in Congo has fueled decades of ethnic hatred and endless displacement. If that’s not a betrayal of their mandate, what else is it?
You would think after so many years of failure, MONUSCO would at least learn humility, perhaps focus on rebuilding trust with the communities they abandoned, or auditing the billions of dollars wasted under their watch. But no, the mission prefers to play military games in Ituri, acting as though adding more guns to the mix will suddenly bring peace.
In reality, this new campaign only deepens the tragedy of the East. Every drone strike means another family buried, another village erased, another excuse for Kinshasa to justify its political crimes under the name of “sovereignty.”
After all these years, MONUSCO still hasn’t learned that peace does not come from the barrel of a Congolese gun. It comes from ending the impunity of those holding it.
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