Atrocities in Congo: A Neverending Story?

by Michelle . · 2009-12-14 03:32:00 UTC
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Civilians are once again caught in the middle of an armed offensive in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), this time bearing the brunt of a Congolese army offensive aimed at disarming the FDLR -- Rwandan Hutu militia, many of whom are accused of involvement in Rwanda's 1994 genocide, and have been terrorizing the Congo ever since.

In a report released this weekend, Human Rights Watch documented the deliberate killing of over 1,400 civilians at the hands of both the Congolese army (FARDC) and the FDLR:

"Congolese army soldiers and FDLR rebel combatants have attacked civilians, accused them of being collaborators, and ‘punished' them by chopping many to death with machetes. Both sides also shot civilians as they tried to flee or burned them in their homes. Some victims were tied together before their throats were, according to one witness, ‘slit like chickens.'  The majority of the victims were women, children, and the elderly."

The FARDC and the FDLR are known for their extreme brutality against civilians. Rather than bringing peace and security to the region by disarming the FDLR, the Congolese military operations -- which have logistical support from the UN peacekeeping mission, MONUC -- seem to have the opposite effect, initiating a new round of senseless violence against civilians not only by the genocidal militia, but also at the hands of those supposedly charged with their protection.

Speaking at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum last week, US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice said that the UN Security Council is currently reviewing MONUC's support for the FARDC, but argued that a complete withdrawal of support, which includes provisions of food, would likely prompt even further backlash against civilians. But is UN support for seriously flawed military operation with an outrageous civilian cost -- and one that is not so-called "collateral damage," but intentional targeting of civilians -- really the "least worst" option?

Meanwhile, the government of the DRC is already pushing for a withdrawal plan for MONUC, calling into serious question its commitment to the protection of its own civilians, especially given the conduct of national forces in the East. Human Rights Watch is calling for the Security Council to deploy a civilian protection expert group, but without greater cooperation from the government of the DRC and and the FARDC in creating an environment conducive to civilian protection, any recommendations from such a group might once again fall on deaf ears, leaving civilians, as always, stuck in a veritable No Man's Land and subject to a perpetual cycle of abuse and insecurity.

[UN Photo/Marie Frechon: MONUC Peacekeeping Officer Patrol Temporary Operating Base.]

Michelle . has been involved in various activist endeavors, including the Teach Against Genocide pilot campaigns.
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