Hope Among The Ruins Of Eastern Congo

While the conflict in the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo flares anew, two recent significant events lead me to express some guarded optimism that an end to the humanitarian crisis is achievable.

The first was a meeting held last week between Congo's Joseph Kabila and Rwanda's Paul Kagame, the first time elected leaders of the two countries had met face-to-face in thirteen years. The two-hour meeting took place in Goma, heart of the conflict-ridden eastern provinces, and came just a month after the two countries resumed full diplomatic relations including the exchange of ambassadors.

As I have written in the past, I believe the only route to lasting peace in the Congo is through recognition by both nations that their mutual economic interests are best served by cooperation rather than bloody battle for control of the region's assets. Initial steps in that direction were announced at this meeting, with an agreement to jointly develop natural gas reserves in Lake Kivu, which lies between the two countries, and to revive joint economic and trade commissions that have lain dormant for years. There was also a renewed pledge to close down militias operating in the region.

The second bit of encouragement came during Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visit to Kinshasa, where she spoke out clearly and forcefully against not only sexual violence against women but identified the armed conflict for control of the Congo's mineral wealth as the root cause of the epidemic of rape and sexual mutilation that has sickened the world. She urged Kabila's government and the United Nations to take the steps necessary to bring an end to the conflict. While she stopped well short of offering U.S. military assistance, I wonder if her remarks presage such a move.

Clinton visits Goma tomorrow, where she is scheduled to meet with victims of rape and speak about the horrors of sexual violence that has claimed hundreds of thousands of women.

Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds a romantic thriller about blood diamonds in the Congo.

UN Talks While Congo Civilians Suffer

The UN Security Council meets today to discuss the situation in the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the civilian population bears the brunt of the fighting between rebel groups including the FDLR, various Mai Mai militia, and the LRA and the Congolese army (FARDC) operating with the Rwandan and Ugandan armies. While joint operations were declared successful by the governments involved and the UN hailed the strides toward peace, the people of the region continue to suffer at the hands of all the combatants.

Human Rights Watch reports that the FLDR killed, raped, and kidnapped hundreds of civilians during and after the joint Congo-Rwanda military campaign in North Kivu earlier this year. Among the atrocities reported, the HRW report cites:

As Rwandan and Congolese coalition forces advanced toward the FDLR's former headquarters at Kibua, in Ufamandu, North Kivu, the FDLR abducted scores of local residents from neighboring villages and took them to their camp, apparently intending to use them as human shields against the impending attack. Witnesses said that when coalition forces attacked Kibua on January 27, the trapped civilians tried to flee. The FDLR hacked many civilians to death and others died in the crossfire.

One witness at Kibua saw FDLR combatants kill at least seven people, including a pregnant woman, whose womb was slit open. Another saw an FDLR combatant batter a 10-year-old girl to death against a brick wall.

The FDLR warned in a letter to the governor of South Kivu that civilians who supported the government forces would be considered combatants and slaughtered. The Congolese army announced after the withdrawal of Rwandan forces from North Kivu that the campaign would now turn to South Kivu.

"The FDLR have a very ugly past, but we haven't seen this level of violence in years," said Anneke Van Woudenberg, senior researcher in the Africa division at Human Rights Watch. "We've documented many abuses by FDLR forces, but these are killings of ghastly proportions."

But the FDLR isn't the only group to commit atrocities. HRW said many rapes and assaults on civilians by Rwandan troops were reported by civilians fleeing the fighting as well.

The aid agency Oxfam, quotes UN figures that say that since mid-January, when Congolese and Rwandan troops attacked the FDLR, another 250,000 civilians have been newly displaced in the provinces of North and South Kivu. Rwandan troops withdrew from the DRC at the end of February, but the Congolese army continues to pursue the FDLR in South Kivu. Meanwhile, FDLR units have reoccupied the territories they fled during the joint campaign.

The situation in the north is no better, according to Oxfam. In Haut Uélé, the Ugandan rebel group known as the Lord's Resistance Army, has displaced nearly 200,000 people since December, in part out of retaliation for a Ugandan military offensive against the group. Ugandan troops withdrew last month, having accomplished little except to destroy the lives of thousands of Congolese.

Marcel Stoessel, Head of Oxfam in the DRC said:

"The war is far from over for ordinary Congolese. These terrible human tragedies are happening in remote areas far away from television cameras, but this does not make the suffering less real for those concerned.

“Homes and shops are being looted and ransacked, women and girls are being raped, and civilians are being forced to flee, many for the third or fourth time. We are helping them pick up the pieces by increasing our emergency work. It is tragic to see Congo’s civilians caught up in this awful violence yet again.”

Meanwhile, the UN Security Council meets today to talk about the situation. Last year, they promised an additional 3,000 troops to aid the 17,000 blue helmets already in the Congo protect the civilian population. Not only have none of those additional troops arrived, there have been no reports that they are even en route.

No one expects much from the additional troops anyway. The original Security Council mandate called for UN troops to protect UN relief operations and Congolese civilians, but their record has been dismal. Civilian casualties in the eastern provinces continue to mount and the epidemic of terror rape continues to destroy the lives of hundreds of women and their families.

Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds a romantic thriller about blood diamonds in the Congo.

Fighting Illicit Congo Mineral Industry

Journalist Rima Abdelkader wrote a well-informed piece about the role of illicit minerals in fueling the conflict in Congo. I added these comments to her article on the Huffington Post:

While demanding that electronics manufacturers take responsibility for their supply chain is a commendable approach, there are other culprits whose actions contribute more directly to the atrocities in eastern Congo. One is Rwanda, which exports coltan even though it has no known mines within its borders. Paul Kagame's government says it is working on source accreditation that will show where it gets the mineral and provide the type of supply chain audit demanded by the Enough Project and others (as is the DRC), but so far the promises are mere words.

Another pressure point are business interests within the DRC itself. Not every villain in this story is a western multinational conglomerate--much of the illicit revenue from cassiterite, gold, and coltan flows right to Congolese individuals who back the rogue militias (and even units of the FARDC) who control many of the mines.

Then there are the leaders of the FDLR, the remnants of the Hutu Interahamwe vilified for their role in ongoing conflict in the Kivus. Those criminals live a life of ease in Germany, France, and Belgium enjoying the profits from the mines their troops control in the Congo.

As attorney and activist Joseph Mbangu pointed out, the fight against violence in the DRC is one that must be fought on many fronts.

Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds a romantic thriller about blood diamonds in the Congo.

UN Takes New Stance in Congo

The United Nations seems to have made a substantial shift in operational goals in the Democratic Republic of Congo, at least according to recent announcements made by Alan Doss, Special Representative of the Secretary General to the DRC. While there has been no official change in MONUC's mandate, the blue helmets have vowed to go beyond the protection of civilians and UN humanitarian operations and become more proactive in efforts to bring peace to the eastern provinces.

The biggest change is a pledge to support the FARDC, the Congolese army, in its drive to destroy the FDLR, the remnants of the Rwandan Hutu Interahamwe who have terrorized the region for over ten years. Doss says the UN hopes to help the Congolese maintain the pressure on the FDLR recently applied by the joint Congolese-Rwandan military action. While Operation Umoja Wetu (Our Unity) was anything but a definitive victory, it did disrupt FDLR operations and led to the repatriation of significant numbers of Rwandans. Doss says MONUC will provide support to the FARDC as it extends the campaign into South Kivu.

MONUC also pledged to help the Congolese hold territory taken from the FDLR, but recent reports from North Kivu indicate these promises are easier made than kept as FDLR units have moved back into Lubero, Walikale and Masisi, in North Kivu, where they clashed with the FARDC, according to MONUC spokesman Lt. Col Jean-Paul Dietrich. The refugee population continues to swell as the FDLR strikes back following the departure of the Rwandan armed forces last month. At least 8,000 people have been displaced in Lubero, 14,000 west of Musienene, and 17,500 in Kirumba in North Kivu. The UN promise to strike back in support of the FARDC has yet to be fulfilled.

The change in UN attitude is significant because it seems to say that the international body has chosen sides in the eternal conflict. Until now, MONUC has supposedly confined itself to supporting UN humanitarian operations and protecting the civilian population from all belligerents, including the FARDC. By now openly supporting the FARDC, the UN has apparently decided that Joseph Kabila's government--as flawed as it might be--is legitimate (and it is, having been elected in 2006). The UN stance says that the best way to end the strife is to help Kabila assert the DRC's right to protect its territory.


Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds a romantic thriller about blood diamonds in the Congo.

Congo, Rwanda, Uganda: Speculation & Opinion

How can three countries with such a history of cross-border conflict suddenly become fast friends? I'm not necessarily objecting to the easing of tensions and growing rapprochement between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda, and Uganda--just about any move with the potential to bring peace to Congo is a good thing in my book--but I do have some questions about why it's happening. Like the journalist that I am, I seldom take pronouncements by public officials at face value. And like the chess player that I also am, I try to look a few moves ahead.

Antagonism between the three countries is the historical norm, so the recent change in the tenor of their relationship is puzzling. Uganda and Rwanda both invaded Congo twice in the last 15 years or so. They both directly participated in the overthrow of two of the last three governments, including that of Laurent Kabila, father of current DRC President Joseph Kabila. Why, then, would Kabila invite his two belligerent neighbors to send their armies into the DRC? I've offered some thoughts previously, but now I'd like to add another layer to my guesswork.

First, a little background about the two most recent military actions that prompt my speculation.

In mid-December, The Ugandans joined with the FARDC (the Congolese army) and the South Sudanese in an abortive attempt to kill or capture Joseph Kony, whose rebel group, the Lords Resistance Army, has been carrying on its fight against Yoweri Museveni's government for the last several years from bases in Congo. The operation, which was mounted with logistical and strategic backing from U.S. military advisers, proved to be a debacle, with 900 Congolese civilians murdered, thousands more raped and kidnapped, and 85,000 driven from their homes by Kony's gangsters in retribution. A handful of LRA officers have been captured and a few dozen soldiers killed, but the operation has been a grand failure otherwise.

The Ugandans promised to leave Congolese soil by the end of February, then didn't. The latest announcement calls for a departure by the end of this month, even though Kony remains at large and his troops, though scattered, continue to terrorize the population.

In the meantime, Kabila met with Museveni to discuss improved relations between the two countries. Not revealed in the public announcements was any decision about how oil reserves on the border between the two countries are going to be divided. Oil has long been a bone of contention between the two nations. When I was in the region researching Heart of Diamonds in 2007, shots were fired over the development of those reserves.

The second part of the mystery was Kabila's highly unpopular invitation to Paul Kagame to send Rwandan troops into North Kivu in pursuit of the FDLR, the Hutu Interahamwe rebels who have terrorized the region since fleeing there after the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Strangely enough, the only significant accomplishment of that joint operation was the arrest of Tutsi rebel warlord Laurent Nkunda, who was detained as he traveled in Rwanda not long after it started. His troops, the CNDP, are being integrated into the Congolese army under the command of indicted war criminal Bosco Ntaganda.

The FDLR? They scattered into the same hills where they have operated with impunity for over a decade. The Rwandan army went home to enjoy their victory parade (unlike the Ugandans), but the FDLR returned and started raping and murdering civilians they accuse of co-operating with the Rwandans.

So what has been accomplished? For the civilians, not much. They are still hugely at risk in the conflict zones. Uganda strengthened its influence in the northern DRC while Rwanda did the same in the Kivus. The DRC got rid of Laurent Nkunda and co-opted the CNDP, at least on paper.

Joseph Kabila may have gained something else, though, and this is where my speculative instinct takes over. The next DRC Presidential election is to be held in 2011. My guess? Kabila is building personal ties with Uganda and Rwanda to back his candidacy when the time comes. In a truly dark scenario, he also my be laying the groundwork for their military intervention in the event that his re-election attempt fails.

As disturbing as such a scenario may be, let me add another layer. Kabila's budding alliances with Uganda and Rwanda also open him to support from their biggest backer, the United States. The potential has already been seen in the American support for the Ugandan operation, with intelligence, strategic advice, communications gear, and a reported $1 million in fuel supplied by the U.S. While American involvement in the Rwandan campaign hasn't been revealed, there is no secret about the U.S. use of Rwanda as a military staging area for humanitarian relief efforts (so far) for Darfur. It wouldn't be much of a stretch to see an expansion of U.S. military involvement in the DRC.

Now let me offend more than a few people.

Putting aside the pros and cons of Joseph Kabila's past and future performance as President and the possible influence these alliances might have on his re-election, it is conceivable that this may be the path to peace in the eastern DRC. It's obvious the Congolese army isn't capable of bringing calm to the region; the United Nations has proven to be much less than effective for numerous reasons; and other help from outside, particularly the EU and AU, just isn't going to happen. If six million dead aren't enough to bring the rest of the world to Congo's aid, what is?

In other words, a regional solution backed by the United States might be the only viable alternative. The motives of ALL the players would be suspect, but the results might be worth it. IF peace can be brought to the country, the Congo's economic and social development can take place. IF that happens with full transparency, truly competitive bidding, and carefully monitored performance contracts, the DRC can fully profit from its natural wealth and begin to achieve its full potential.

A stretch? Certainly, but it may be the only pragmatic solution.

Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds a romantic thriller about blood diamonds in the Congo.

Second Front Opens In Congo War

Rwandan troops crossed into the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Tuesday, opening their joint campaign with the Congolese army to hunt down Rwandan Hutu rebels operating as the FDLR in North Kivu. The DRC says the Rwandan presence on Congolese soil is an observation mission, but about 2,000 Rwandan soldiers are believed to have made the crossing.

The invitation Congolese President Joseph Kabila issued to Rwanda represents a bizarre reversal of position. The two countries currently have no diplomatic relations and have spent several years accusing each other of fighting a proxy war in the Kivus. Rwanda was reported to be backing Laurent Nkunda and the CNDP, a Tutsi militia that nearly overran Goma in November. At one point, Nkunda declared his intention to march across the DRC and overthrow Kabila's government. He has apparently since been deposed by his own military commander, Bosco Ntaganda, who said he wants to bring the CNDP army into the fold of the FARDC, the Conglese army, and join in the action against the FDLR.

The joint operation excludes the UN, and considerable concern has been expressed by aid organizations that the fighting will exacerbate already dreadful conditions for the civilian population. A Reuters reporter north of Goma in the town of Kibati said Congolese army soldiers were stopping all vehicles, including U.N. peacekeepers, from going north.

Concern for civilians is well-placed, since a similar joint operation between the Ugandan army and the Congolese to track down Joseph Kony's Lords Resistance Army farther north in Orientale province has resulted in hundreds if not thousands of civilian deaths and put many thousand refugees out of their homes. Reports from Radio Okapi say that Kony's rebels set fire to a church full of worshipers a few days ago, burning them alive before attacking other communities in the towns of Tora and Libombi located about 130 km from Dungu, the military base of the joint Ugandan-Congolese operation. Before that incident, Human Rights Watch said over 600 civilians have been killed by the LRA.

Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds a romantic thriller about blood diamonds in the Congo.

Speculation On Congo Maneuvers

I generally try to avoid speculation in this space, using it instead to report events in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), especially as they relate to my novel, Heart of Diamonds. Today is different.

Things are changing in the DRC, and recent events lead me to make a few guesses as to what they mean and where they might lead. Despite the dire conditions in the eastern provinces (and elsewhere), I think there is a bright light at the end of the tunnel.

My guess is that the threat of final victory by the CNDP and the potential establishment of an independent nation in the Virungas prompted Joseph Kabila's government to take some drastic steps. Those steps have a good chance of paying off in the long term and perhaps even start the country on the path to peace.

First, Kabila agreed to negotiate directly with Laurent Nkunda under the auspices of the United Nations. This not only bought Kabila some time, but further committed the UN to an expanded peace-keeping role in the region. As ineffectual as it may be, MONUC's presence and the commitment of 3,000 additional troops (someday) can only reinforce Kabila's claim to legitimacy.

Second, Kabila invited Yoweri Museveni to send Ugandan forces into the DRC to join some Congolese regular army units (the FARDC) and troops from South Sudan in a hunt for Joseph Kony and the Lords Resistance Army. Kony has been thumbing his nose at Museveni from the Congo since he moved his rebel army from Uganda. Even if Operation Thunder Lightning, as it is called, is unsuccessful, my guess is that there will be a quid pro quo somewhere along the line. It could be Ugandan help in an attack on the CNDP sometime in the future, or at least a guarantee that Museveni won't provide support to Nkunda's rebels.

The third step was Kabila's surprise invitation to the Rwandan army to join Congolese forces in a campaign to eradicate the remnants of the Hutu Interahamwe, the FDLR, who have vowed to overthrow Paul Kagame's Tutsi-led government after having fled to the DRC following the genocide of 1994. General James Kabarebe, the Chief of Staff of the Rwandan army, was in Kinshasa last week to work on the joint plan. How does Kabila profit from having Rwanda troops on Congolese soil--an about-face from his long-held stance? It removes Nkunda's cause for rebellion, which has supposedly been to protect Congolese Tutsis from the FDLR.

These two alliances and the commitment of UN troops to support the peace effort also send a message to rogue commanders in the FARDC who have been setting up their own little fiefdoms in the Kivus: Come back into the fold or you could be next.

Kabila's latest move--and this is pure speculation on my part--was to persuade Bosco Ntaganda, Laurent Nkunda's second in command, to break away and split the CNDP into two factions. That situation is still murky and far from resolved (as I wrote recently), but it can only work in Kabila's favor. Whether a deal was made under the table with Ntaganda or he decided to bolt on his own after seeing the pressure build against Nkunda, his move gives Kabila a lot of room and strength in the negotiations.

What happens if all this plays out as I speculate? Peace in the eastern provinces may finally arrive and a million people may be able to return to their homes and rebuild their shattered lives. That peace might even stand a chance of enduring if the military alliances morph into a common economic market built on the rich resources in the region. If all the nations involved have opportunity to reap above-board profits from the mines and forests and farms of the Congo, they will be much more likely to keep the peace.

Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds a romantic thriller about blood diamonds in the Congo.