Some 200 women gang-raped near Congo U.N. base

My solution is a UN Controlled State.The congolese leaders had already showed their immaturity.We need a new generation of leaders there.

afroengineer,

I don't believe Congo is still a colonization country as we are speaking. Colonization of another country is bad because every country should be independent and be able to govern by electing their own representatives. Since you believe colonization is bad, what are some of the differences and similarities between colonization and what the perpetrators are doing along with wanting to take over the mines and the country?

I don't believe the posters were making racist comments. The comments were describing the perpetrators actions and their mentality as the lowest common denominator which can apply to anyone regardless of ethnicity who would do what they did in this article.

What's your solution to bring peace to Congo and her neighborhood countries?

@skipbeat, i didnt change my mind.My first posts seem to imply that i ONLY blame Belgium.I dont only blame Belgium I blamed the CIA ,Mobutu,Belgium and many and many. I dont recognize the borders imposed to us by the Europeans so when u say outsiders i hope u mean those who are not from central Africa.You have the same tribes in Rwanda ,Congo and other countries in that area so difficil to call anyone outsiders. You are right about the control of resources I never disagree with that I just wanted to point that we r having this mess not because Africans r dumb r retarted but because of centuries of colonization. I dont believe in any kinds of compensation from Belgium or Europeans as i think if Japan could rebuild itself after ww2 we african can do the same by ourselves.For me its past n its over.I just reacted to the racists attacks who dont know the true reasons of the African mess.

afroengineer: @skipbeat, evrything is connected if Congo had had a good and stable government none of this mess would have happened.We r seeing the result of a bad independence process, greedy heartless people in power armed by the "shadows"

Now you changed your mind from blaming Belgium to the Congo government. It's not just Congo but all of Africa have to have stability in order for the countries to move forward and be able to have an economy that would bring up the living standard and education for everyone one regardless of gender.

The persons who are doing the raping are people from outside the country with inside help who wants to control the mines and the country. The reason for the bad independence process is that the majority of the people are illiterate and too many tribes with different beliefs as how the country should be govern. No major corporations would be setting up business in Congo due to the country lack of instability.

"Survivors said their attackers were from the FDLR that includes perpetrators of the Rwandan genocide who fled across the border to Congo in 1994 and have been terrorizing the population in eastern Congo ever since, according to Cragin. The Rwandans were accompanied by Mai-Mai rebels, he said, quoting survivors."

@skipbeat, evrything is connected if Congo had had a good and stable government none of this mess would have happened.We r seeing the result of a bad independence process, greedy heartless people in power armed by the "shadows".

Did you watch Hotel Rwanda? No way they could have done anything...

Are you honestly kidding me? Hotel Rwanada has nothing to do with this.

Those fighters, in this massacre, ran when the UN forces arrived but returned when they left, if the UN instead would have engaged those fighters, who were isolated in small groups, they could have at least stopped some of the rapes from happening and provide a buffer zone.

afroengineer,

This article is about the mines and not about Congo history of Belgium. The mines have gold, cassiterite, and coltan which are just like drugs whichever factions control the mines will have the power to rule the country by using fear on the people.

@diveit Congo just took its independence from Belgium then after Lumumba's speech they decided to eliminate them n put a puppet regime.Belgium gave weapons to the rebels of Katanga to fight the central government without external help how do u want the young Congo to fight Belgium-Katanga? The only mistakes african made was to accept and welcome the missionaries who came n spot before colonization.We were just naive.

Noliving: The UN had forces in the area that could have done something, they could have stopped if not prevented what happened. They are there on a peace keeping mission, the whole point of the UN forces there is to prevent something like this from happening and when it does happen they are suppose to interview to save and protect the civilians. They completely failed at this job right here.

Did you watch Hotel Rwanda? No way they could have done anything...

And if they did engage and an all out battle erupted you'd all complain about how the UN incited a firefight and civilians got killed.

There's a lot of things I'd do if the UN intervened (first and foremost would be to die of shock) but the last thing on my mind would be complaining.

The UN restricts it's peacekeepers. And obviously 25 is not enough for the masses encountered in Africa. That is probably because to play up to "African sensitivities" the UN only sent that many to "observe" and not engage combatants. And if they did engage and an all out battle erupted you'd all complain about how the UN incited a firefight and civilians got killed. They can't win because they are playing up to liberal cry baby attitudes so they send in token numbers with limited mandate to take action to please you on that front. So if this happens and the UN could do nothing is only proof that the UN is useless in these situations. Kinda like J-cops. So don't cry about it. You are the ones playing a part in their uselessness.

Easy to say "defend your wife" how many people looked down the business-end of a rifle/gun/machete/etc?

There’s a story behind that and it ends with a neat scar on my part and a neat hospital ride on theirs. The only acceptable response to a threat is immediate action. I can't speak for others but whenever I've been threatened the only emotion I can well up is rage, the very idea of somebody violating my person or my family is enough to illicit a response.

So yes, it is easy to say 'defend your wife' because you're a man for God's sake and if you're not willing to stand up for something sacred you're very existence is futile. PC be damned it's a man's duty to defend no matter the cost.

Also I would assume many were fathers and thus were worried about their kids future if they expire, etc. Plus, how many were trained fighters?

What use is a man who can't, or won't, protect his family? What kind of example is it to his children that when faced with death it's best to let those around him suffer? You don't need to be a trained fighter to fight, winning is a whole other story.

Not that easy to throw your life away.

Sure it is, people do it all the time. Most people just don't do it for the right reason.

Time for the US military to introduce some top notch weaponry to these rebels. It situations like this that have to be stopped and if it takes military might to do it so be it.

Intervening would be much more effective than interviewing.

Instead of blaming the UN

Are you kidding me skip? The UN had forces in the area that could have done something, they could have stopped if not prevented what happened. They are there on a peace keeping mission, the whole point of the UN forces there is to prevent something like this from happening and when it does happen they are suppose to interview to save and protect the civilians. They completely failed at this job right here.

"gang-raped nearly 200 women and some baby boys"

The death penalty is in order here.

This is one sick news! I can not understand why Congo is so messed up, I am surprised no one here says something like Hiroshima, Nagasaki and not blow up all of Congo to make sure that these evil dogs that rape even baby boys will fry for a good long time.

Evil in its truest form at work.

afroengineer..sorry my bad. Africa is one big opportunity but the Africans have to do it themselves without relying too much on others.

Stick the blame on the guys doing the raping.

diveit, when i say Congo wasnt ready for independence im actually blaming africans.n first Lumumba seeks help from the US but he got turned down so he went to the soviets who were offering help.All he wanted was help for his people wherever it was coming from but CIA didnt think the same way.

That type of psych warfare been going on for millenia.

Easy to say "defend your wife" how many people looked down the business-end of a rifle/gun/machete/etc? I did and the .38 barrel looked as big as a train-tunnel.

Also I would assume many were fathers and thus were worried about their kids future if they expire, etc. Plus, how many were trained fighters?

Easy to talk, hard to find the gonads to die for your beliefs. Not that easy to throw your life away.

Said that, fully agree the perpetrators need to be brought to justice.

IMO, Hollyweird got a LOT to answer for as their movies give us a totally wrong image as to how people will react in a high stress situation.

afroengineer...Nice, blame it on the CIA and not the Africans themselves or the Soviets whom they went to ask for help. Congo has been independent for 50 years and it still cannot straighten itself out.

We Africans r human beings but these rapists r not.They r worst than animals.They just don't hurt these women but give racists more arguments against Africans. To conclude : Congo wasn't ready for independence though it would have been a better place with Lumumba but thanks to Belgium , cold war, CIA and Mobutu we have all this mess.

This is sick and horrible. This is what people become when the land is lawless. Congo is a lawless society and the perpetrators have no fear of a higher authority which leaves them to do whatever they want. The husbands should have done something to prevent their wives from being raped even at the cost of their lives. The husband and brothers who witness the rape will most likely do the same thing as the perpetrators. The cycle will keep going on until the people say enough is enough.

Instead of blaming the UN, the Congo government have failed to protect the people of the country. This is all due to personal greed and power hungry on all sides of the factions, tribes, and government.

It's cases like this when I truly believe that a PMC would be the professional’s scalpel to the UN's moron wielded sledgehammer. Before its dissolution Executive Outcomes did a fantastic job in Angola and Sierra Leone and they did it with fewer men, less money, and they were still more effective than a large UN presence. The best course for dealing with these rebels is to surgically eliminate them; total war is the only way to win.

I thought "raping and pillaging" stopped in the civilised world hundreds of years ago?

Human cruelty is timeless; it permeates our history and will continue on so long as a single human draws breath.

Welcome to the real world. We're all 3 meals away from savagery; here, there, everywhere.

This story makes me physically ill. The people who committed these crimes cannot possibly be human. I can't... I can't even fathom it.

I thought "raping and pillaging" stopped in the civilised world hundreds of years ago?

the key word here is "civilized".

What an utterly sickening story.

I thought "raping and pillaging" stopped in the civilised world hundreds of years ago? This kind of stuff happens all too often.

UN Peacekeepers are utterly and totally useless, and it is Africa that suffers most of all.

Those rebels or whatever you want to call them are just animals...

Rape of course is terrible, but raping babies? There's gotta be a special place in hell for those guys.