War Is Boring

Don’t continue reading this post if you have weak stomach. Seriously, just stop. If you can stand it, below the jump are photos of recent victims of Lord’s Resistance Army attacks in northeastern Congo. As you can see, the LRA likes to mark its victims in distinctive ways. The photos come courtesy of a Catholic priest who survived LRA abduction in 2008. More on that, later.

In eastern Congo, warring rebels and rogue government troops have displaced some 2 million people in a decade of fighting. The region’s vast size, thick forests and lack of infrastructure complicate humanitarian efforts. In all of Congo, there are just 300 miles of roads that amount to more than footpaths. A U.N. peacekeeping force is trying to change that.

by DAVID AXE With at least 2 million displaced people, Congo has one of the world’s largest populations of those who have lost their homes and fled their villages. Until recently, the patterns of displacement were fairly predictable. But this summer, refugees came from an unexpected direction, forcing humanitarians to adapt. The news in May [...]

From the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Website.

Editor’s note: This article is the second in a two-part series. Part one focused on assistance to rape victims and educational efforts for everyday Congolese. Part two looks at efforts to reform the groups responsible for rape in Congo.

Before leaving for Congo in late August, I vowed to my friends and myself that I wouldn’t just survive Congo, I would conquer it. To prove it, I would hunt down a monkey, look it in the eye, and punch it. If you have to ask why, then you could never understand and it’s not worth explaining.

Editor’s note: This article is the first in a two-part series. Part I focuses on assistance to rape victims and educational efforts for everyday Congolese. Part II, which will appear tomorrow, looks at efforts to reform the groups responsible for rape in Congo.

After two weeks in eastern’s Congo’s LRA country, I returned to Kinshasa to catch my flight home. I found a clean, cheap room at the downtown Catholic mission. Chatting with my girlfriend Molly on Facebook, she reminded me that the last time I stayed in a Catholic mission in Central Africa, I nearly got killed. “Ha ha,” she laughed. “Ha ha,” I laughed. The most dangerous thing in Kinshasa that night was the off-brand Nutella clone I bought for a dollar as a dinner stand-in.

DUNGU, Democratic Republic of Congo — When the Ugandan rebel group, the Lord’s Resistance Army, attacked the town of Duru in eastern Congo two years ago, it took a convoy of U.N. peacekeepers and humanitarian workers 10 days by road to reach the devastated town. Representatives of the U.N. high commissioner for refugees found Duru residents in “urgent need of assistance.”

As a military target, the Ugandan Lord’s Resistance Army rebel group in Congo makes other armed bands look easy, in comparison. Even the Taliban — a notoriously fleet-footed group that easily blends in among Afghan civilians — is easier to find, fix and destroy.

Besides serving an important social function for many people, the Catholic church in Congo plays a big role in helping victims of the country’s many violent conflicts.

Indonesian army engineers belonging to the MONUSCO U.N. peacekeeping force in Congo are building a 150-kilometer road between Dungu and Faradje, helping improve security and economic development.