– The UN prepares to go to war for the first time, with a 3,000-strong task force sent to fight rebels in the Congo (Daily Mail, June 14, 2013)
- 3,000 UN troops are being deployed to the central African nation
- It is the first time that the UN will be in direct control of a fighting force
- Even normally-reluctant Russia and China voted in favour of the action
- Mineral-rich Congo has been wracked by years of civil war
- Conflict was originally sparked by the genocide in neighbouring Rwanda
The UN is about to go to war for the first time in its history after the Security Council voted unanimously to intervene to fight rebels in the Congo.
Around 3,000 UN troops wearing the blue insignia, are being deployed to the central African nation which has been wracked by years of civil war and lawlessness.
The UN has led a 14-year-long peacekeeping in a bid to end the ethic conflict which was sparked by the genocide in neighbouring Rwanda when thousands of Hutus fled into the Congo to evade justice.
Much of the fighting is now over the country’s natural resources which include large quantities of gold, copper, diamonds, and coltan (a mineral used in cell phones).