Global Policy Forum

A beggar in ragged military fatigues stands by a pile of rotting garbage at the market in the northern Congolese town of Basankusu. "I'm a rebel and I have no money. Can you give me something to eat?" He says over and over again.

But the people of Basankusu have learned to ignore that steady refrain from soldiers belonging to the Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC), one of the main rebel armies in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Residents of the remote riverside town surrounded by pristine tropical rainforest struggle to feed themselves, let alone the unpaid rebel army that controls a vast northern swath of Africa's third largest country.

The town of about 10,000 on the Lulonga River, which pours into the mighty Congo just downstream, was once a productive port for shipping palm oil, fish and other agricultural produce to the capital, Kinshasa. But a messy regional war in Central Africa severed Basankusu from the outside world and destroyed the local economy, which is only now showing the first signs of recovery as the main belligerents negotiate peace for Congo's 55 million people.

Weekly commercial flights to Basankusu resumed in May, just weeks after the MLC signed a power-sharing deal with the government. The first river barge arrived from Kinshasa last month and three more have followed since, stocking the central market with clothes, materials and other goods not seen since the MLC captured the town three years ago this November.

--- Government Fled --- residents say the government army fled after a brief fire fight, leaving behind munitions and weapons. "We took the town in a couple of hours," the local MLC Commander, General Benjamin Alongabony, told Reuters at his jungle campsite, guarded by a battalion of young-looking soldiers in rag-tag uniforms and flip-flops.

Compared to besieged eastern Congo, which is controlled by Rwandan-backed rebels, there is less fear and insecurity in the northwest, where the Ugandan-backed MLC enjoys support from the local population. "The rebels don't disturb the people, they let us be free," said Katherine, one of many Basankusu residents who said MLC troops were far better behaved than the despised government army which had a reputation for brutality. "The only problem is the MLC soldiers still rob people's farms, but they are only human and they must eat," she said.

Hunger is a problem for many in Congo due to the disruption caused by a war in which more than two million have died, mostly from lack of food or access to basic healthcare. "People stick to what they can get in their garden and they've stopped cultivating crops because they are always stolen by the army," said Will Langbeen, who works for doctors without borders. "The entire agricultural infrastructure has to be rebuilt." In much of rural Congo, the only infrastructure and buildings not in disrepair belong to missionaries who braved the war. Some have been in Basankusu long enough to call fellow missionaries who arrived 22 years ago, "newcomers."

--- No Water, No Electricity --- The last time the area had running water or electricity was about two decades ago. Only the United Nations headquarters in town has those luxuries today, envied by the local population.

"They fly in and out every day with their empty planes and we're totally cut off. They could help us but they do nothing," said Jean-Pierre, another resident. "They just sit there drinking beer, which we can't even get here," he added, pointing to the UN compound packed with gleaming white vehicles that can only travel a few kilometers (miles) around town before coming to the end of the muddy dirt roads.

"The people expect a lot from us, but they don't understand that we're not here for development, we're here to observe the peace," local UN Administrator Mohammed Hebbadj told Reuters. At the district hospital, doctors are struggling to contain an outbreak of monkey pox, a disease similar to smallpox. It is transmitted from handling or eating monkeys, a common source of meat among protein-deprived Congolese. Elsewhere nearby, entire villages have been wiped out by sleeping sickness, said Langbeen, adding that malnutrition was a major problem throughout the region.

Congo's war erupted in 1998 when Rwanda and Uganda sent in troops to back rebels aiming to topple the Kinshasa government, which has been backed by Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia. All sides say they have withdrawn their troops and negotiations are underway to establish a transitional government expected to bring elections to the former Zaire.

But people in Basankusu know it will take time to repair the damage the war has done. "I am fighting for Congo, said Jackson, a 16-year-old MLC soldier who has been with the rebels for three years. But when asked what he or his country had gained from the war, he shrugged and said: "I don't know."