Army factions clash in Buvaku - Congo

[dArKeR]

By Finbarr O'Reilly

Kinshasa - Heavy fighting between rival factions of Congo's army raged throughout the volatile eastern border town of Bukavu on Thursday as United Nations troops and local officials struggled to contain the violence.

"We have sent peacekeeping troops out to patrol the city in armoured vehicles and attack helicopters are flying over the city," said Sebastien Lapierre, a spokesperson in Bukavu for the UN mission in Congo, known as Monuc.

"But fighting is still going on and bullets are flying all over the place as we speak," he said by phone.

http://iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=68&art_id=qw1085664961579B252&set_id=1

The Bush commitment to Africa.

[gottaB]

1. This spread of thisconflict illustrates the folly of turning our backs

turning our backs on internal unrest and armed conflict in small countries of little significance to US security interests or political concerns. It was wrong in 1994, as Clinton acknowledged, and it's still being wrong today. Why should the rule of the machete and the AK47 respect national borders? It doesn't.

Over the past week the UN peacekeepers have been involved in the fighting. A blue helmet soldier has been killed. The mission needs support.

So, yeah, the Bush commitment to Africa.