The article reports on the activity of United Nation peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The UN force in Congo, known as MONUC, has a reputation for standing idly by as civilians are slaughtered.However, since nine Bangladeshi peacekeepers were murdered by a tribal militia in the north-eastern region of Ituri last month, that seems to be changing. A detachment of Pakistani blue helmets was sent to shut down a base used by the militia concerned, the FNI. In the ensuing firefight, between 50 and 60 militiamen were killed. It was the fiercest battle the UN had fought in Congo since the 1960s. MONUC's new commander, a cigar-smoking Dutch general called Patrick Cammaert, is promising more of the same. Congo's war officially ended in 2003, but parts of the country remain lawless and bloody. Ituri is home to five militias, tribally-based but often motivated more by loot than ethnic solidarity. After a brief lull last year, fighting between the Hema and Lendu tribes has rekindled in recent months. In January, Congo's transitional government invited five of Ituri's militia bosses to become generals in the still-chaotic national army, in the hope that they would encourage their troops to disarm.