Conflict in North East Congo

Having read into the conflict in Congo, it has revealed an entire realm of conflict in the world that had previously fallen beneath my radar. Africa seems to be an area that is overlooked in International Relations, unless one is looking at decolonisation. At least, conflicts in Africa are not as mainstream as those in Israel and Palestine, Iraq, and Afghanistan for example. The Second War of Congo is just below the Second World War in terms of people killed, with a staggering 5.4 million deaths either directly or indirectly, from disease and malnutrition. The conflict seems to stem from the political instability of the Congolese state. Rwanda and Uganda, neighbouring countries, were both supporting rebel groups and militias who were seeking to oust Mobutu Sese Seko who had been President for just over 30 years. His regime was authoritarian and he sought to purge Congo from all colonial cultural influence whilst pocketing almost $5 billion USD for himself. You may have come across him in a junk email, with his 'wife' or 'children' asking you to 'wire them the moneys'. But I digress. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, and US influence to democratise Congo, Mobutu began to loosen his grip on power.
The rebel groups, sponsored by Rwanda and Uganda and led by Laurent Kabila, soon captured Kinshala, the capital of Congo. The coup succeeded and Mobutu was finally ousted from power. The First War of Congo ends with Kabila becoming President. However, inheriting a colossal debt, Kabila struggles to govern the country, and to make matters worse, deports all Rwandan and Ugandan officials unceremoniously back to their countries in a bid to appear in control. With the smell of betrayal in the air, Kabila's presidency is short lived, as Rwanda and Uganda support a second coup attempt issuing in the Second War of Congo. However, Kabila quickly appealed for the support of the Southern African Development Community, including countries like Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Angola. Each of these countries, having a stake in the conflict, decide to support Kabila with troops to fight off rebels attempting to capture Kinshala. Kabila clings to power, until he is finally assassinated by one of his own body guards. He is succeeded by his son, Joseph Kabila, who proves to be popular with the Congolese Parliament. Being educated in the West, there his hope that his Presidency will reform the country. The Second War of Congo is brought to an official end with Peace Treaties signed with both Rwanda and Uganda. Both countries agree to a UN led plan to pull out their troops, and this is where it becomes interesting. As more than 5,000 Ugandan troops pull out of a province called Ituri in the North East of Congo, they are replaced by a UN peace keeping force of only 800 Uruguayan blue helmet soldiers with an incredibly limited mandate. As they leave, there is a power vacuum, and an ethnic conflict that has been simmering between two Congolese tribes, the Hema and the Lendu reaches boiling point. The capital of Ituri, Bunia, is the stage for an ethnic conflict similar in scale to the Rwandan genocide. The Hema and Lenda tribes kill each other mercilessly, as UN peace keeping troops cower away in their compound in the city with fighting on their doorstep. For me, this particular conflict is an example of how the UN proves to be infective again and again, without even mentioning the conflicts in Rwanda, Sudan, and the Balkans. For example, in Kosovo, it was not until a NATO led force pounded the Serbs, who were committing the atrocities, that the conflict was brought to heel. One would at least have expected UN peace keepers to provide aid during a conflict such as the one in North East Congo, but even this was difficult as it was too dangerous for UN peace keepers to venture out of their compound and reach those who were hurt.