Peacekeepers as arms dealers

UN peacekeepers in Congo are said to have sold weapons and ammunition
to rebels. In return for this they should have received gold and
ivory.

Soldiers of the UN peacekeeping troops in Congo have sold information
to the British broadcaster BBC weapons and ammunition to rebels in
eastern Congo. For the weapons were the peacekeepers from India and
Pakistan, gold and ivory, such as the BBC reported. The United Nations
had established in the fall, but made ​​no official charges to
Pakistan and India not to annoy as important sending countries of UN
peacekeepers. Officially it was called, there is insufficient evidence
had been available.

"It's true, they gave us weapons," said the jailed rebel leader Mateso
Ninga. "They said it was for the security of the country." According
to the BBC report made ​​some of the peacekeepers, arms deals with
Hutu militias, which participation is accused of genocide against the
Tutsis in Rwanda in 1994. For smuggling of ivory for weapons is also a
UN helicopter was used, the report said. BBC claims to have conducted
its own investigation for 18 months and seen confidential documents
relating to an internal investigation by the UN.

The UN Mission in Congo (MONUC) has deployed 17,000 troops. It is
currently the largest in the world. Fighting in eastern Congo despite
a peace agreement Tutsi rebels against government troops and Hutu
militias. All parties to the conflict are accused of serious human
rights violations.