Ban Ki-moon’s rude reception in Congo

Fighting broke out yesterday near the eastern Congo city of Goma, just days in advance of the UN Secretary General’s planned arrival. Agence France Presse reports: The volatile mineral-rich region was rocked by hours of fierce fighting with mortars and rocket launchers in the first clashes involving M23 since December. The rebels briefly occupied the ...

By , a professor at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies.

Fighting broke out yesterday near the eastern Congo city of Goma, just days in advance of the UN Secretary General's planned arrival. Agence France Presse reports:

Fighting broke out yesterday near the eastern Congo city of Goma, just days in advance of the UN Secretary General’s planned arrival. Agence France Presse reports:

The volatile mineral-rich region was rocked by hours of fierce fighting with mortars and rocket launchers in the first clashes involving M23 since December.

The rebels briefly occupied the regional capital of Goma in November.

The latest fighting comes a week after the first troops from a new UN intervention brigade arrived in the country with a strong mandate to attack rebel groups.

Congolese army (FARDC) spokesman Colonel Olivier Hamuli said troops had managed to "push back" the rebels by Monday afternoon and were carrying out search operations.

As this Reuters report makes clear, the military situation in eastern Congo is in significant flux as the M23 rebels attempt to overcome internal divisions and as the UN peacekeeping force absorbs new troops which are supposed to form an "intervention brigade" capable of confronting armed militia groups.

Ban Ki-moon is scheduled to arrive in Congo tomorrow, accompanied by World Bank president Jim Kim. According to the Bank, "[t]he visit will draw attention to the plight of fragile and conflict-affected countries struggling to meet the Millennium Development Goals and will highlight the commitment of the two international organizations to jointly tackle global conflict and poverty." The leaders had also planned on celebrating the agreement signed by eleven countries in February to advance peace and stability in Congo. 

David Bosco is a professor at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies. He is the author of The Poseidon Project: The Struggle to Govern the World’s Oceans. Twitter: @multilateralist

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