Democratic Republic of Congo: Fighting Fire With Fire...and More Fire

The conflict in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is a disaster of epic proportions, but it appears that "rock bottom" may still be farther down. Recent intensification in conflict between rebel groups and the Congolese military (and possible military collusion with one rebel group against another), combined with rapidly rising tensions and cross-accusations between the DRC and Rwanda, are pushing the crisis into a new and even further devolved stage. Competition for access to valuable natural resources adds fuel to an already blazing fire.

And, as always, thousands of civilians are caught in the middle--displaced, brutalized, and killed, attacked from all sides in a complicated conflict with a multiplicity of sources. Sexual violence against Congolese women is a frightening hallmark of the conflict.

The crisis is directly related to the spillover of the Rwandan genocide. The Interahamwe militias responsible for the genocide crossed the border into the DRC in 1994, and never left. (Nor did they abandon their violent passtime.) To give you an idea of the absolutely critical relationship between the genocide and the current conflict, John Prendergast and Angelina Jolie titled their joint DRC trip and subsequent project "Ripples of Genocide."

(Follow the link for an update on the recent escalation of violence, as well as resources for background and additional information.)

Briefly: Who's Who in Eastern DRC:

• The FDLR, or Interahamwe, is largely comprised of militias responsible for the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. The genocidaires entered the DRC alongside legitimate refugees in 1994, and have wrecked havoc on the region ever since.
• General Laurent Nkunda and his militias claim to exist to protect Congolese Tutsis from the FDLR.
• The Congolese military is responsible for some of the most egregious abuses against civilians.
• MONUC, the UN peacekeeping mission to the DRC, is currently the largest UN peacekeeping operation.
• The Lord's Resistance Army, a Ugandan rebel group notorious for its use of child soldiers, terrorizes Congolese villages and continues to abduct children from its base in the northeast.
• Many other small splinter groups or roving gangs of criminal opportunists also contribute to the conflict.

(For background information on the DRC, please visit the Genocide Intervention Network and the ENOUGH Project.)

Nkunda's Rejuvenation

The DRC President Joseph Kabila and 22 armed groups entered into a cease fire agreement in January 2008, but the UN and human rights organizations documented at least 200 violations over the next six months. Fighting began to intensify in late August, concentrated in North Kivu but recently spreading to Ituri as well, adding at least 150,000 fresh displacements to the existing 1.6 million.

Developments in recent weeks are cause for even graver concern. Nkunda essentially withdrew from the peace accord when he vowed to "liberate" all of the DRC from Kabila's rule earlier this month. Nkunda clearly lacks the capacity to fulfill his grandiose ambitions, but has already made good on his threat to escalate attacks, and even managed to capture a military base last week. According to comments given to the East African newspaper (based in Kenya), UN peacekeepers are interpreting Nkunda's claims to possess new weaponry, including rocket launchers and anti-aircraft guns, as a "coded message" of Nkunda's growing ability to fend off even MONUC. In a more direct "communiqué," peacekeepers reportedly received leaflets warning of Nkunda's ability to shoot down armored helicopters.

Kabila's response has been less than measured. In a televised address, he urged civilians to take up arms against Nkunda. Perhaps pre-empting his advice, a new rebel group emerged recently in Ituri, claiming to fight for the implementation of the 2006 peace accord. But per usual, when fighting fire with fire, their activities to date include the violent attacks on civilians and looting of villages that are now standard in the region.

Cross-Accusations

Kinshasa has repeatedly expressed a fear of a large-scale Rwandan invasion of the DRC, and accused Rwandan troops of entering the country to support Nkunda's rampages. Representatives of the DRC presented photographs purporting to prove the invasion to the UN Security Council:

The 34 photographs, obtained by Reuters, showed weapons Congo says it recovered at the site of the attack, along with ammunition, Rwandan money, a Rwandan military medical insurance card, a military satchel labeled "RWANDA DEFENCE FORCES" and other items.....Several U.N. officials speaking on condition of anonymity said the recovery of Rwandan military items alone would not represent incontrovertible proof that regular Rwandan troops had been on Congolese territory.

When questioned, Dr. Richard Sezibera, Rwandan Special Envoy to the Great Lakes Region, denied the allegations as "diversionary and unfounded." However, when questioned about the movement of Rwandan troops near the border, he affirmed the country's right to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Meanwhile, MONUC confirmed the existence of evidence supporting Rwanda's accusation of cooperation between the DRC army and the FDLR (Rwanda's former genocidal militias). The Rwandan government is urging international community to "fight tooth and nail to ensure that these people are disarmed, demobilized and eventually those who can be reintegrated are integrated, so that the whole problem is uprooted."