U.S. Military and Corporate Recolonization of the Congo: on the Congo unrest of the late 1990s and the U.S. involvement in the region.
The United States' involvement in Congo since before independence from Belgium in June 1960 has been steady, sinister, and penetrating. Most notable was the CIA's role in the overthrow (September 1960) and later assassination (January 1961) of Congo's first Prime Minister, the charismatic (and socialist) Patrice Lumumba. The full extent of U.S. machinations was not known for years, but the failure at the time of the United Nations to protect Lumumba was patent. And questions continue to linger over the mysterious plane crash in September 1961 that killed U.N. Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold as he was flying to the border town of Ndola to meet with Moise Tshombe, president of the breakaway Katanga Province. The plane fell from the sky, killing all aboard. Is it any wonder that in Congo today there is little trust of Washington or respect for the United Nations?
[via abuddhas memes]
Explosions destroyed arms depots at the Ikeja Cantonment in Lagos yesterday, igniting fires at dozens of factories in Oshodi and sending thousands of people fleeing. CNN and BBC are reporting 600 people dead in the panic.
NASA has a satellite photo of the Mount Nyiragongo eruption taken from MODIS. [via Doc Searls]
Mount Nyiragongo erupted last night, sending lava through the town of Goma 10 kilometers away.
The Nigerian Justice Minister, Bola Ige, has been assassinated. He was an opponent of the Sharia laws being implemented in parts of that country.
Initial reports from witnesses were that the U.S. had invaded Moheli, the island capital of Comoros, as part of the WoT. Apparently the soldiers claimed to be U.S. Army and handed flyers linking the government to terrorism. It now appears that it's a coup. The text of the flyer that was handed out is at the bottom of this message from the Prime Minister. [via Metafilter]
Horn of Africa: Building Sustainable Security - an analysis of the political situation in the region, including Somalia. [via Ethel The Blog]
