Friday, January 23, 2009

Congo Update, Part II

The UN Dispatch has more on the capture of Gen. Laurent Nkunda. This looks like a big breakthrough, less because of what Nkunda himself did (though he's a major negative influence) and more because it signals Rwanda is willing to break off it's destabilizing policies towards its western neighbor. The reason Nkunda's arrest is a bit surprising is because in general he's been viewed as a Rwandan front. The indicators now, however, is that Rwanda is willing to abandon Nkunda and the policies he represents in favor of engagement with the Congolese central government.

This New York Times article also gives some excellent context on what's going on, and really sounds a genuine note of optimism.

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