Amid Clinton Visit, a Look at Persistent Troubles in Congo

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• JIM LEHRER:

  An update on the situation in the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited the eastern part of the country today, where government and rebel forces frequently clash.

  NewsHour special correspondent Jason Maloney was there this spring, just as a new international peacekeeping effort was getting underway. He accompanied the United Nations' chief of mission there on a tour of U.N. bases in the North Kivu province. Here is his report.

• JASON MALONEY:

  In the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, United Nations peacekeepers are facing fresh challenges to their 10-year mission here, how to secure millions of people as fighting has flared up again in recent months.

  Over 5 million have already died as a result of this brutal conduct that is fueled by ethnic rivalries and a struggle over natural resources. Millions more have been displaced, as many as 35,000 in the last month alone.

  The U.N. has, in fact, come under intense criticism for failing to adequately respond to this latest wave of violence against civilians, something that is at the core of its mandate here.

  ALAN DOSS, U.N. mission chief, Democratic Republican of Congo: Well, our first challenge is protection, protection of civilian populations. And that's a huge challenge, because of the size and complexity of the country. You know, this area alone, the Kivus, where we're focusing on right now, is the size of California.