UN Report on DRC Violence Won’t End US Military Assistance

Police club Tshisikedi supporters as they attempt to march to meet him at the airport in Kinshasa, where Tshisikedi had been detained by police, on Nov. 27. – Photo: Reuters

Last October it was revealed that for the second year in a row the Obama administration was lifting a ban on giving military assistance to countries that use children soldiers so that the U.S. could give $200 million to Yemen, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan and Chad.

Two months later the DRC had a bogus election in which state forces killed dozens of civilians, and detained and tortured hundreds more. The UN Human Rights council just release a report in which they noted that,

At the end of its investigation, the UNJHRO is able to confirm that at least 33 people were killed, including 22 by gunshot, as well as at least 83 others injured, including 61 by gunshot, between 26 November and 25 December 2011 by members of the defense and security forces. At least 16 people remain unaccounted for. Furthermore, the UNJHRO documented the arrest of at least 265 civilians, most of whom have been detained illegally and/or arbitrarily, mainly due to their real or alleged affiliation to a political opposition party or for coming from Mr. Etienne Tshisekedi’s home province or to other provinces where he enjoys significant support. These human rights violations were attributed mainly to elements of the Garde républicaine (GR), officers of the National Congolese Police (PNC) and its specialized units, such as the Légion nationale d’intervention (LENI), the criminal investigation brigade and the Groupe mobile d’intervention (GMI), and to a lesser extent, to soldiers of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) not belonging to the GR. Moreover, agents of the National Intelligence Agency (ANR) were also allegedly responsible for several cases of arbitrary arrest and illegal detention.

Don’t look for these killings to cause a stir among white liberals who want to “Stop Kony,” or from the Obama administration. The military aid will continue.