High Value Weapons
Northeast of Mbandaka, where the Maringa and Yekokora rivers meet to form the Lulonga is the town of Basankusu; one of the few towns I've been to that has an air of menace about it. It is common to have soldiers hanging around the airplane at other fields but Basankusu is the only place where they formed a perimeter around the aircraft facing inward; watching us.
I'm told it is because the area is controlled by a rebel group from the wars that was incorporated into the government by simple decree; yesterday you're out, today you're in. Voila!
Things are pretty tense up there.
We landed there the other day and for the first time there were national police at the airport instead of military of questionable provenance. I think though they were police by decree because they were still wearing the ragged green military berets. The blue uniforms came in but the berets must have been delayed. They didn't form a perimeter around us but they were just as surly.
They were carrying AK-47's or AKM's (I can't tell the difference), one of which caught my eye. It had yards of strapping tape around the front handguard, more yards of strapping tape holding two magazines onto the one stuck into the well, no shoulder stock and, to my wonderment, no pistol grip, just the trigger guard. He is going to be hard put to fire that thing let alone control it.
It must be that in places of great danger and disorder, any weapon is valued. It doesn't have to work well, maybe it doesn't have to work at all, it just has to look like it might work and it can be prized as an M-1 tank.
This obvious truth had never occurred to me before.
I'm told it is because the area is controlled by a rebel group from the wars that was incorporated into the government by simple decree; yesterday you're out, today you're in. Voila!
Things are pretty tense up there.
We landed there the other day and for the first time there were national police at the airport instead of military of questionable provenance. I think though they were police by decree because they were still wearing the ragged green military berets. The blue uniforms came in but the berets must have been delayed. They didn't form a perimeter around us but they were just as surly.
They were carrying AK-47's or AKM's (I can't tell the difference), one of which caught my eye. It had yards of strapping tape around the front handguard, more yards of strapping tape holding two magazines onto the one stuck into the well, no shoulder stock and, to my wonderment, no pistol grip, just the trigger guard. He is going to be hard put to fire that thing let alone control it.
It must be that in places of great danger and disorder, any weapon is valued. It doesn't have to work well, maybe it doesn't have to work at all, it just has to look like it might work and it can be prized as an M-1 tank.
This obvious truth had never occurred to me before.
posted by Carl at 12:22 AM
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