: Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire)

July 16, 2007: European Union advisers working with the Congolese police now estimate it will take up to ten years to build a reliable police force. EU advisers describe the Congolese police and security forces as a patchwork made of old militias and "local units" (which often means tribal security forces). The Congo government doesn't know for sure how many policemen it has. Estimates range form 70,000 to 100,000. That is a real command and control problem.

July 13, 2007: The UN is investigating new allegations that UN peacekeepers in the Congo have engaged in smuggling minerals. This time a group of Indian peacekeepers are involved in what may be a gold smuggling operation. The allegation says the peacekeepers accused of smuggling were dealing with Rwandan Hutu militia leaders operating in the Congo.

July 8, 2007: The UN has begun a new training program for the Congolese Army (FARDC) in North and South Kivu provinces. The new program will run through September 2009. The UN intends to train a total of 23,000 new Congolese soldiers. Units and personnel will rotate through the training course in three-month long cycles. The UN statement said that the training involves both :tactical and ethical" issues. Basic soldiering skills will be stressed. UN evaluators have seen Congolese Army units first hand and many have never had any kind of basic training