http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,451570,00.html
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED European Peacekeepers Begin Congo Withdrawal After four months of keeping election-season peace in Democratic Republic of Congo, European Union troops begin to head home on Thursday. But will they leave peace behind? At the beginning of the mission in August, few thought that the situation in Democratic Republic of Congo would be stable enough for the European troops stationed there to withdraw at the end of their mandate. But on Thursday, the 2,000 troops from 18 European Union countries -- including 780 Germans -- will begin heading home. The withdrawal should be complete by Dec. 22. The EU mission, called EUFOR, was in Congo to help the UN forces already in the country provide security during the country's first free elections since independence from Belgium in 1960. With Congo fresh off back-to-back wars from 1996 to 2002 -- and with a number of rebel groups running their own candidates -- the mission looked to be a difficult one. When violence erupted in mid-August following the first round of voting, it seemed that the pessimists' worst fears had come true. Now, though, the tide seems to have turned. President-elect Joseph Kabila is set to be sworn into office in early December and his run-off opponent, former rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba, finally conceded defeat on Tuesday and said he would continue his fight politically, as part of the opposition -- "to preserve peace and save the country from sinking into chaos and violence." Despite the apparent political truce, stability in Congo remains precarious. Fighting has continued in the lawless east of the country with UN troops battling fighters loyal to the local warlord Laurent Nkunda since Saturday. The clashes have reportedly subsided and the Associated Press reports that thousands of refugees are streaming back home. But the fighting could flare up again at any time. Concern likewise remains high that an ongoing lack of security in wide swathes of the country may be attracting countries interested in acquiring nuclear weapons. The country is a source of high quality uranium and supplied the Manhattan Project in the 1940s as the US was developing atomic weapons. "For quite some time there have been suspicions that Iran has been trying to exploit the chaos in Congo and purchase uranium via middlemen. There is no hard proof but there are indications there may be something to the suspicion," an unnamed European diplomat told Reuters. The EUFOR mission has received praise for helping to bring the post-election violence in August -- which saw 17 Congolese killed -- quickly under control. But even with the mission coming to an end, there may not be much respite for the thinly stretched Bundeswehr. German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung said on Tuesday that he could imagine participating in a similar mission to the war-torn Darfur region of Sudan. +++ -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
