Since 1999, the UN has been trying to pacify the eastern region of the DR Congo. The mission known as MONUSCO has nearly 20,000 soldiers and an annual budget of $1.4 billion (1.3 billion euros). Despite being the largest and most expensive mission of the United Nations, violence in the country continues.

UNAMID is a joint mission of the African Union and the UN in Sudan's volatile Darfur region. Observers consider the mission a failure. "The UN Security Council should work harder at finding political solutions, rather than spending money for the military's long-term deployment," says security expert Thierry Vircoulon.

Since the beginning of South Sudan's civil war in 2013, nearly 4 million people have been displaced according to the UN. Some of them are being sheltered in UN compounds. But when clashes between government forces and rebels broke out in the capital Juba in July 2016, the blue helmets failed to effectively intervene. Later, the Kenyan UNMISS commander was sacked by former UN chief Ban Ki-moon.

UN peacekeepers in Mali are monitoring compliance with the peace agreement between the government and an alliance of Tuareg-led rebels. But Islamist terrorist groups such as AQIM continue to carry out attacks making MINUSMA one of the UN's most dangerous military intervention in the world. Germany has deployed more than 700 soldiers as well as helicopters.

MINUSCA, the UN's mission in Central Africa Republic has not helped to improve the image of the United Nations in Africa. French troops have been accused of sexually abusing children by the Code Blue Campaign. Three years on, victims haven't got any help from the UN. Since 2014, 10,000 soldiers and 1,800 police officers have been deployed. Violence in the country has receded but tensions remain.

The UN mission in the Westsahara known as MINURSO has been active since 1991. MINURSO is there to monitor the armistice between Morocco and the rebels of the "Frente Polisario" who are fighting for the independence of the Western Sahara. In 2016, Morocco which has occupied this territory since 1976, dismissed 84 MINURSO staff after being angered by a statement from the UN Secretary-General.

The UN mission in Ivory Coast fulfilled its objectives on June 30, 2016 after 14 years. Since 2016, the troops have been gradually withdrawn. Former Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said this was a "turning point for the United Nations and the Ivory Coast." But only after the full withdrawal will it be clearly known whether or not the mission was successful on a long-term basis.

The UN deployment in Liberia is - as in neighboring Ivory Coast - will soon be history. The soldiers are leaving by mid-2017. Since the end of the 14-year civil war, UNMIL has ensured stability in Liberia and helped build a functioning state. Liberia's government now wants to provide security for itself. The country is still struggling with the consequences of a devastating Ebola epidemic.

The UNISFA soldiers are patrolling the disputed oil-rich region of Abyei. Sudan and South Sudan both claim to be rightful owners of this territory located between the two countries. More than 4,000 blue helmets from Ethiopia are deployed. Ethiopia is the world's second largest peace-keeping contributor. At the same time, the Ethiopian army is accused of human rights violations back home.

UN peacekeepers in Somalia are fighting under the leadership of the African Union in a mission known as AMISOM. The soldiers are in the Horn of African country to battle the al-Shabaab Islamists and bring stability to the war-torn nation. Ethiopia, Burundi, Djibouti, Kenya and Uganda, Sierra Leone, Ghana and Nigeria have all contributed their troops for AMISOM.

On April 6, 1994, unidentified attackers shot down a plane carrying Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana as it was about to land at Kigali airport. President Habyarimana, his Burundian counterpart and eight other passengers died in the crash. The next day organized killings began. Massacres continued over the course of three months, and nearly 1 million Rwandans lost their lives.

After the assassination of the president, Hutu extremists attacked the Tutsi minority and Hutus who stood in their way. The murderers were well-prepared, and targeted human rights activists, journalists and politicians. One of the first victims on April 7 was Prime Minister Agathe Uwiringiymana.

While thousands of Rwandans were being killed every day, Belgian and French special forces evacuated about 3,500 foreigners. On April 13, Belgian paratroopers rescued seven German employees and their families from Deutsche Welle's relay transmitting station in Kigali. Only 80 of 120 local staff members survived the genocide.

As early as January 1994, UNAMIR commander Romeo Dallaire wanted to act on information he had received about an "anti-Tutsi extermination" plot. The warning he sent to the UN on January 11, later known as the "genocide fax," went unheard. And his desperate appeals after the genocide began were rejected by Kofi Annan, who was Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations at the time.

The Mille Collines radio station (RTLM) and Kangura, a weekly magazine, stoked ethnic hatred. In 1990, Kangura published the racist "Hutu Ten Commandments." Mille Collines radio, which was known for its pop music and sports programs, fueled the genocide by urging Hutu civilians to hunt down and kill Tutsis. Director Milo Rau devoted his film "Hate Radio" to these appalling broadcasts (photo).

In Kigali, Paul Rusesabagina hid more than 1,000 people in the Hotel Des Mille Collines. Rusesabagina had taken over the position of the hotel's Belgian manager, who left the country. With a great deal of alcohol and money, he managed to prevent Hutu militias from killing the refugees. In many other places where people sought refuge, they were not able to escape the slaughter.

Churches were no longer sanctuaries. About 4,000 men, women and children were murdered with axes, knives and machetes in the church of Ntarama near Kigali. Today, the church is one of the country's many genocide memorials. Rows of skulls, human bones as well as bullet marks in the walls are a reminder of what happened there.

The French government maintained close ties to the Hutu regime. When the French army intervened in June, it enabled soldiers and militiamen responsible for the genocide to flee to Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of Congo, and even take their weapons with them. They still pose a threat to Rwanda today.

During the genocide, millions of Rwandan Tutsis and Hutus fled to Tanzania, Zaire and Uganda. Some 2 million of them went to Zaire alone. These included former members of the army and perpetrators of the genocide, who soon founded the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a militia that is still terrorizing the population in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo today.

On July 4, 1994, rebels from the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) patrolled the area around the Church of the Holy Family in Kigali. By that time, they had liberated most of the country and routed the perpetrators of the genocide. However, human rights activists also accused the rebels of committing crimes, for which no one has been held accountable to this day.

On July 18, 1994, the RPF's leader, Major General Paul Kagame, declared that the war against the government troops was over. The rebels were in control of the capital and other important towns. Initially, they installed a provisional government. Paul Kagame became Rwanda's president in the year 2000.

The genocide went on for almost three months. The victims were often slaughtered with machetes. Neighbors killed neighbors. Not even babies and elderly people were spared, and the streets were strewn with corpses and body parts. It's not only the physical scars on the bodies of the survivors that remind Rwandans of the genocide. A deep trauma also remains.

It was an unprecedented move that brought one of African football's biggest names to the Bundesliga. After six successful years at Liverpool, the Senegalese striker has joined Bayern Munich, where he will be expected to at least partly fill the void left by Robert Lewandowski. All eyes will be on him when Bayern get the new season up and running away at Eintracht Frankfurt on Friday night.

A star name in his native Cameroon after helping the Indomitable Lions secure a place at the 2022 World Cup, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting enjoys a rather less prominent status at Bayern Munich. Following the departure of Robert Lewandowski, however, Choupo-Moting is arguably the only senior out-and-out striker at the club, and potentially a useful alternative for coach Julian Nagelsmann.

One of the best left-backs in the Bundesliga, Borussia Mönchengladbach's Ramy Bensebaini also has a keen eye for goal. The Algerian famously announced himself with a brace against Bayern Munich in his debut season, and has found the net 19 times in total in all competitions. He struggled with a hamstring injury last season, however, as the Foals endured a campaign to forget.

Ghanaian star Daniel-Kofi Kyereh arrives in the Bundesliga after an impressive couple of seasons with St. Pauli in Bundesliga 2, where he scored 22 goals in 67 games for the Hamburg side, and assisted 21 more. With the World Cup coming up in November, Ghanaian fans will be hoping he can replicate that form in the Bundesliga, and with the Black Stars in Qatar.

Sebastien Haller's Borussia Dortmund career has got off to the worst start imaginable, and it's nothing to do with football. The Ivory Coast international has been diagnosed with a malignant testicular tumor and is set to undergo chemotherapy. Until we receive better news, questions as to whether the 28-year-old can be an adequate replacement for Erling Haaland or not are very much secondary.

A sound reader of the game with good technique, Mali's Amadou Haidara was one of RB Leipzig's unsung heroes last season as they secured their first ever major trophy, the German Cup. Despite interest from Manchester United last year, the 24-year-old instead signed a contract extension to keep him in Leipzig until 2025, as the Red Bull side attempt to challenge Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga.

One of the fastest players in the Bundesliga, Togolese forward Ihlas Bebou scored seven goals for Hoffenheim last season - but his preparations for the 2022/23 season have been hampered by knee problems. New Hoffenheim coach Andre Breitenreiter, who worked with Bebou at Hannover previously, will be hoping his striker stays fit.

Energetic and hardworking, Ellyes Skhiri is regularly among the top ranked Bundesliga players when it comes to kilometers covered on the pitch. And in Cologne boss Steffen Baumgart, he has a coach who appreciates that style of play. He was the midfield engine last season as Cologne qualified for the UEFA Conference League - but can Skhiri and the Billy Goats go a step further this year?

With a reputation for tricky dribbling, Chidera "Chiddi" Ejuke became a fan-favorite with Russian Premier League CSKA Moscow. This season, he has joined Hertha Berlin on loan, where he'll be playing under a familiar face from the Russian capital, head coach Sandro Schwarz, who was recently in charge of Dynamo Moscow. Hertha will be hoping Ejuke can help them avoid another relegation battle.

After two consecutive seasons out on loan at St. Pauli and VfB Stuttgart, this could be the season where Egyptian forward Omar Marmoush finally shines in the Bundesliga with VfL Wolfsburg. The 23-year-old is already a key player for the Pharaohs at international level, now is the time to stake a claim for a place in Niko Kovac's Wolfsburg team.