Not fit for the front page…
But an 18-month BBC investigation for Panorama has found evidence that:
- Pakistani peacekeepers in the eastern town of Mongbwalu were involved in the illegal trade in gold with the FNI militia, providing them with weapons to guard the perimeter of the mines
- Indian peacekeepers operating around the town of Goma had direct dealings with the militia responsible for the Rwandan genocide, now living in eastern DR Congo
- The Indians traded gold, bought drugs from the militias and flew a UN helicopter into the Virunga National Park, where they exchanged ammunition for ivory
The UN looked into the allegations concerning the Pakistani troops in 2007.
It concluded that one officer had been responsible for dealing in gold - allowing traders to use UN aircraft to fly into the town, putting them up at the UN base and taking them around the town.
But the UN decided that “in the absence of corroborative evidence” its investigators “could not substantiate the allegation” that Pakistani peacekeepers supplied weapons or ammunition to the militia.
It did, however, identify “an individual who seemed to have facilitated gold smuggling”.
But like Glenn Reynolds said:
But since there’s no anti-American angle, it won’t be much of a story.