DRC: French special forces led a rapid reaction landing that deployed in northeastern Congo yesterday to halt spiralling ethnic massacres and bolster the beleaguered UN mission.
Hundreds of joyous Congolese cried "liberated!" as officers from the advance force, which will eventually number 1,400, sped up Bunia's main street.
Meanwhile surly fighters from the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC), the Hema militia currently controlling Bunia, looked on quietly.
The unannounced French landing saw hundreds of people pour out of the UN compound, where they have been sheltering behind the razor-wire fence since last month's killing spree.
Over 430 people, most of them civilians, died in often gruesome fashion during ethnically-motivated slaughter led by both Hema and Lendu militia.
"We are so relieved," said Floribert Kanda, a former goldmine manager. "For once it seems the West is thinking of us after 10 years of abandonment."
Shortly after their dawn landing, a French special forces officers, who declined to be named, admitted: "It is quite a complicated situation. There are several factions but we have robust rules of engagement."
In the overcrowded airport terminal behind him, hundreds of refugees pressed against the windows to witness the long-anticipated arrival. Most were desperately awaiting a flight out of Bunia.
The UN mission to Congo has been sharply criticised since 700 Uruguayan troops already stationed in Bunia failed to halt last month's massacres.
Tempers flared yesterday morning at the airport as the sector commander, Col Daniel Vollot, punched a cameraman who failed to obey an order to move back.
Later Col Vollot defended the record of the UN mission. "The conditions were extreme. We were not prepared to fight," he said.