UN-backed operations against rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have failed, a leaked report says.

The document, seen by the BBC, says Rwandan-Hutu rebels continue to receive arms supplies and recruit fighters. It says the UN, fighting alongside Congolese government troops, has failed to halt the illegal mineral trade and has inflamed the humanitarian crisis. The report was written by a group of experts mandated by the UN to look into violations of an arms embargo.

 
The Security Council is due to discuss the findings later. Jason Stearns, a DR Congo analyst, called them "astounding". He told the BBC's Network Africa programme the group had concluded there was a "complete lack of transparency" in the mineral trade in DR Congo. "This allows many actors to continue to buy tin and gold from areas controlled by rebel groups - thereby financing these rebels groups," he said.
"They have implicated some of the most important gold dealers in DR Congo, in Burundi and in Rwanda - these are very high level officials involved in this."
 
'Terminator' at large
The report states that the UN-backed military operation against Rwandan-Hutu rebels has failed to dismantle the organisation's political and military structure. Instead, these rebels - some of whose leaders were involved in the Rwandan genocide - have been able to use networks in Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania, and overseas in Europe and North America, to bolster their supply of arms and to recruit extra soldiers.
 
The report says Rwandan fighters continue to enjoy support from senior members of the Congolese military who are supposed to be opposing them.
 
Source: BBC
 
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