Abau Adua has been homeless since the LRA descended on his village a year ago. ‘We were out on the river when the LRA attacked,’ he explains. ‘We heard the screams and the shouting. I saw 16 corpses, people beaten and stabbed to death. Two of my close family – my cousin and my nephew – were among them.’
‘Communities continue to live under daily threat of attack,’ says Marcel Stoessel, head of Oxfam in DRC. ‘The UN’s primary role is to protect civilians and to support the national army to become a stronger, more accountable force.’
One of the worst human rights offenders is the government army, which is poorly paid and ill-disciplined. In July 2009, the DRC government said there would be zero tolerance for soldiers who abused civilians, but elements of the army still prey on local people rather than protecting them.
Another year’s renewal of the mission is expected. However, despite this being the world’s largest peacekeeping force (some 18,500-strong), the first quarter of this year has seen a spike in LRA violence. As the UN reviews its mandate, it needs to move faster and more effectively to provide protection to people like Abau Adua.
Anna Ridout nin.tl/iWPf3G read more HERE
The Free 