September 1, 2009  

U.K. and Argentian Advance Units in Angola

British advance troops disembark to scout proposed UK base site

LUANDA, ANGOLA-- United Kingdom and Argentina military officers are currently in country making plans and arrangements for zones of operation.  The UN peacekeeping mission to Angola will divide the country into halves along the east-west axis with the United Kingdom taking the northern half and Argentina taking the southern half.  The primary relief forces should begin arriving within two weeks to this battered and deprived country.  

Angola has suffered severely during it's civil war, with it's economy in shreds and its population facing famine.  The current life expectancy is a mere 41 years for males and 44 years for females.  The high prevalence of infectious diseases is also taking it's toll upon the population

There is still concern regarding UNITA, since the guerilla group is currently working hard to win over the local population with it's modernist ideals of promising democracy and human rights, these ideals have spread like wildfire throughout the country.  There has been no official comment from UNITA regarding the expected arrival of UN Peacekeepers to their country and possible reactions.  

Officer greets local children in village near future Argentine aid station

On the local Government side, Angolan dictator General Yuhu who receives support from both Cuba and Russia, has welcomed UN aid but finds the intrusion of UN military forces in Angola as "blantant meddling by outside forces" and has claimed that any such military force would be treated like any other hostile invader--with violence.

In either case, the UN Peacekeeping force will have a rough time of sorting out the friendlies from the bad guys.  

Finger Pointing Continues at United Nations

Meanwhile, world outrage continues to grow over the inaction of the United Nations regarding the African country of Angola. Country after country denounced the UN for its long delay in determining a course of action with many pointing the blame at members of the UN Security Council for meddling and halting any talk of progress on getting a UN peacekeeping force inside Angolan borders.

A UN peacekeeping force has been widely seen as the only way to get relief for the population of Angola given the current state of affairs.  Government dictator General Yulu has expressed concern to his allies, the Cubans and Russians, regarding the UN move and possibly upcoming resolution against his Government which controls a large swath of the country.  Both Cuba and Russia have taken his concerns to heart and have worked hard to block any moves by the UN in the past.  But while both Cuba and Russia have supported General Yulu's government, that support won't be increased anytime soon as both Cuba and Russia have their own problems at home.  

One contributing factor to the delay was that no one country had the political will to go it alone in Angola.  None wish to be trapped between the heavily supported Yulu government and the popular UNITA guerilla movement, and even several NATO countries had refused to try and stop the downward spiral in Angola without support from their allies.  It wasn't until both the UK and Argentina stepped up independently that the impasse was ended .

But as the previous squabbling at the UN got louder, the dying continued in Angola.  Now that help is on its way, it will soon be discovered whether it arrives in time or if Angola will cease to exist as a country.

( Kelly Crawford, ENN)