Baraza

Category: Gorillas | Date: Sep 12 2008 | By: baraza

Last month, US and European Union diplomats warned that despite a peace deal that was signed in January, the situation in eastern DR Congo was becoming increasingly tense and that all sides were rearming and that fighting would soon beak out. Their prediction came true, heavy fighting broke out on 28 August.  Tens of thousands of people are again fleeing - Pierre posted numerous photos illustrating this in the gorilla blog here.

Clashes have occurred on the main road between Goma and Bukavu, the capitals of North and South Kivu, respectively. The UN has 17,000 peacekeepers in DR Congo. The unit called Monuc, is the largest peace keeping force in the world! They are supposed to monitor a 2003 peace deal to end a conflict that drew in at least eight other African countries.

Black lines represent movements of people in the 1990s, red lines are more recent movements in the 2000s. Tents are IDP camps.

Rwindi and Kibirizi are just south of Lake Edward. Fighting is occurring right inside the Virunga National Park.

According to the BBC, “Monuc, have mobilised to block the advance of troops loyal to General Laurent Nkunda. The head of the Monuc in DR Congo, said that his forces had intervened using force to assist the DR Congo Armed Forces re-establish their position.

“We used force to send out a strong signal to say that we shall not allow the CNDP (Gen Nkunda’s forces) to occupy Nyanzale,” he said.

Yesterday diplomats based in the DR Congo made a rare joint appeal for the army and rebels to stop fighting in the east. The statement was signed by representatives of the UN, African Union, EU and the US demanded that all forces return to the positions they held last month.

The diplomats’ want all sides, including the Congolese army to stop all movements . , except for those undertaken alongside Monuc against the FDLR (Army for the liberation of Rwanda which is made up mainly of Interharamwe and armed forces of Rwanda)  - a different rebel group based in the area.”

To me, one of the saddest fall outs of this war is that children make up 30 per cent to 50 per cent of the fighting forces in eastern Congo. Boys are used as soldiers and porters, girls become sex slaves. According to UNICEF, only 4 in 10 children in the region have been enrolled in school

THIS IS MADNESS!!! WHY WHY WHY?

I’ve struggled to find some sense in what is going on in Eastern Congo ever since I joined WildlifeDirect. The best sugestion  I can find, is that the FDLR leaders are accused of fleeing to DR Congo after taking part in the genocide of Tutsis and moderate Hutus in Rwanda more than ten years ago.

Most people agree that their presence in DR Congo lies at the heart of years of recent unrest. Gen Nkunda, believes he is protecting Hutu’s from these killers who are also known as the Interharamwe. He has previously refused to disarm, accusing the army of working with the FDLR against Tutsis who live in the region.

If this is true then the solution is almost impossible to envisage. Nkunda claims to be protecting Congolese Tutsi’s and in doing so is keeping the ruthless killers from returning to Rwanda. But he is also illegally occupying some places in eastern Congo where his militia  and those of the Congolese army keep pushing against each other. Both sides are guilty of atrocities too painful to describe here.

So what can be done? What if we just remove the Interharamwe to a neutral country? Would this unleash a lasting peace? How could it be done? There are nearly 20,000 of these people. Who would have them?

We’d love to read your thoughts. What do you think?How can peace be achieved in eastern Congo?

Here are some related news stories and web sites with additional information

United Nations News Center

Intstitute for Envirinmental Security

BBC News online http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7610913.stm

Global Security: Timeline of violence in Eastern Congo

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Tags: eastern DR Congo, gorilla blog, MONUC, Virunga National Park, wildlifedirect