THE SUN could finally set on the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) militia and usher in a new era of hope and peace for the population of Eastern DRC.

The international community has in the past decade or so made little attempts to fully deal with the menace, and the little threats they made were just that­, threats. They were not accompanied by any meaningful attempts to act on them. 

The inaction emboldened the FDLR to the extent that they carved a niche in the Congolese society, and in some places, supplanted local authorities. They were free to mete out terror on the local population despite the presence of over 20,000 UN peacekeepers. 

Now, if the stern message from the US Special Envoy to the Great Lakes Region is something to write home about, FDLR and its godfathers should by now be dancing the final serenade. The no-nonsense ultimatum by Ambassador Russ Feingold could be the best thing the population in eastern DRC has heard in a long time.

Monusco, the UN peacekeeping force in the Congo, had in the past given lame excuses as to why they could not go after the militia. It will be interesting to see how the force will deal with the latest chapter; will it bite the hand that feeds it?