The Congo, Its Minerals and Its Tribalism

Jul 27, 2022 | Jonathan Power
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When the United Nations pulled its troops out of the Congo, a country the size of Western Europe, in June 1964, Secretary General U Thant reported, "The UN cannot permanently protect the Congo from internal tensions and disturbances created by its own organic growth towards unity and nationhood".

That was some kind of relief for UN soldiers after a peacekeeping operation that nearly tore apart the UN and claimed the life of U Thant's predecessor, Dag Hammarskjold, who died in an air crash (whose cause is still unresolved) while flying from one end of the country to the other.

But beneath the surface still ran- and runs to this day- the issues of tribalism and mineral exploitation.

Once again, for the nth time, eastern Congo has become a maelstrom.