AU should take lead here

A video grab taken from AFP footage shows participants taking their places during the opening of an African Union (AU) summit in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, on June 26, 2014. FILE PHOTO | ELIAS ASMARE |  AFP

In Summary

• The prime mover behind any military intervention should be the AU.
• It is by leading such actions that the continental body can claim legitimacy.

By EDITORIAL
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The United States is pushing for military action against a rebel group in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo that is accused of horrendous crimes against civilian populations.

Special Envoy to the Great Lakes region and the Congo Russell Feingold told a media briefing on Tuesday that the US stands ready to support the United Nations military mission in the region and the Congolese army in taking battle to the rebel FDLR forces.

Although based in eastern Congo, the FDLR actually aims to remove the Rwandan government.

This is a group that not only needs to be eliminated; its leaders should be brought to justice for both their roles in the Rwanda genocide 20 years ago and the continuing crimes against humanity.

As much as such a group needs to be crushed and offers of help welcome, the prime movers behind any military intervention should not be the United States or the United Nations, but countries within the region under the auspices of the African Union.

It is by leading such actions that the continental body can claim legitimacy and demonstrate that it serves the African people rather than just the leadership.