UPDATE on continuing confusion and death in the Congo, from Voice of America online news:

UN says No Evidence Army, Rebel Groups Ally in Eastern Congo

by Noel King
Kigali [Rwanda]
03 October 2007

"Conflicting reports are emerging from eastern Democratic Republic of Congo regarding an alleged alliance between Congo's army and outaw [Rwandan] Hutu and [North Kivu] Mayi Mayi militias, aimed at purging a rebellion by [Congolese Army] dissident general Laurent Nkunda."

In 2004, Gen. Nkunda, an ethnic Tutsi, severed ties with the national army of the Congo, claiming they looked the other way as Hutu militias victimized Tutsis around the Lake Kivu region after the so-called end of the DRC's civil war (1998-2003). Rwandan Hutu and Congolese Mai Mai militias have recently joined forces as the Front of the Liberation of North Kivu (FDLR). This was first reported by the BBC on 10/2/07. If the FDLR militia and the army do have an alliance, the motive would be the defeat of Gen. Nkunda. He has made fierce enemies of both the Congolese government and the rebel militias - especially Hutus. As things go with rebel groups everywhere named "the liberation of something-or-other," liberation is far from the goal. Or, I should say, freeing people from their victimizers is far from the goal. The real one is the liberation of the region's resources from the hands of local control. However, the government in the west of the country has so little control over the east that the rule of law is held by many factions, all enemies of each other unless an alliance is built. Without this, no group is running the place longer than it takes to outgun another bunch of guys with guns. And, some of "the guys" could be as young as 13.

Mineral map, illustrating the rich potential of the eastern Congo region. This is what the fighting's about - not "liberation," religion, or political ideology. Photo: Human Rights Watch.

Of this, everyone is sure: the hardest core of Rwandan Hutu butchers continues to operate in the eastern Congo. Following the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, untold thousands of Hutus simply disappeared among the refugee camps in the eastern Congo meant for fleeing Tutsis and moderate Hutus. Over the years, many Hutus have been repatriated in Rwanda, but many stayed behind to re-invent themselves as the current Hutu militia of Congo's Lake Kivu region. And that's just one of many militias or "rebel" bands in the region.

The UN Mission in the Congo (largest in the world, with 17,000 international troops) reports it has no evidence of a militia/DRC Army alliance. DRC Army spokesman Maj. Gabriel de Brosses denies it, as well - rather weakly. "We do not think such an alliance took place because the FDLR is one of the major problems that the DRC is facing. It is pretty unlikely to happen," de Brosses said.

One problem with the Major's denial is, the national troops in the east are not "the DRC." They are demoralized by lack of pay and basic leadership from distant headquarters in Kinshasa, and no doubt tempted by the promise of rewards made by rebel troops. It will be fascinating to see this play out - or would be, if not for so much civilian suffering. As in my original Bukavu post, the terrorizing of women and children continues. The Congolese Mai Mai militia continues to force children to join them. According to Refugees International, approximately 30,000 children were forced or enticed to serve as soldiers in 2006.

A poster in a UNICEF child soldier rehabilitation center in Katanga Province. Photo: Refugees International, in a 2006 photo essay entitled "Visual mission: Vulnerable children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo."