Various outlets in the last couple of weeks have written about the LRA's destructive path through northeastern Congo as the violent rebel movement fled from the Ugandan-led attack on its base in the Garamba forest in mid-December. But this report from Bloomberg is the most authoritative story to date. In it, HRW's Anneke Van Woudenberg says that the LRA killed more than 600 people between December 24 and January 11 in the region bordering Sudan. And the UNHCR says that the LRA have forced 115,000 from their homes since September, as villagers flee from the dreaded rebels.
Meanwhile, Enough, a well-connected Africa-focused lobbying group headed by former Clinton administration officials, confirmed my early suspicion that ‘Operation Lightning Thunder,’ was launched with the support of the United States. It complains that "the joint military operation against the rebel group launched in mid-December by the armies of Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the Government of Southern Sudan—with the support of the United States—has been poorly executed to date and has so far only made the crisis worse."
In addition, the failure of the operation is beginning to draw criticism against Uganda president Yoweri Museveni, says Rosebell Kagumire, of the Institute for War and Peace Reporting. "Support for the war is faltering in the Ugandan parliament," she writes. "As controversy around the operation continues, calls are increasing for a ceasefire and reassessment."
Showing posts with label lra. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lra. Show all posts
Friday, January 16, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
Kivu's Four-Ring Circus Continues [Updated]
In Ring One:
Negotiations are said to be "continuing" in Nairobi between the Kabila government and the CNDP rebels, and to be focused on securing a possible cease fire.
Ring Two:
The LRA, in flight since a Uganda-led assault on their encampments in northeastern Congo on December 14, have attacked the gold-mining village of Sambia, 130km east of Dungu, in Orientale province, says IRIN, the UN OCHA news agency. The attack led to several deaths and caused almost 10,000 people to flee their homes. An OCHA briefing on the humanitarian crisis in Ituri is available here.
Ring Three:
More details are emerging from the interview Bosco Ntaganda gave to journalists last week from his home farm in Kabati, which Reuters first reported on last week. Ntaganda led an apparently unsuccessful attempt to overthrow Laurent Nkunda as leader of the CNDP, perhaps, it is thought, because Nkunda was preparing to turn him over to international authorities. Ntaganda is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes he committed in Ituri province in 2005.
Today, the Institute for War and Peace Reporting says that Ntaganda is ready to face Hague prosecutors – but not just yet. "I will go to The Hague when it is the right time," Ntaganda told IWPR during a January 8 meeting with journalists.
But first, Ntaganda said, he has to help bring peace to the Kivus. Accusing Nkunda of blocking the peace process, he offered his CNDP troops to fight alongside the Congolese army to disarm the Rwandan Hutu Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, FDLR, which he says are at the root of the problem.
It is not clear, however, how many CNDP troops Ntaganda controls. The CNDP's spokesman, who remains loyal to Nkunda, has said that Ntaganda brought no troops and no weapons with him when he arrived from Ituri.
As for the indictment against him, Ntaganda sounds fairly sanguine: "There are positive things I did in Ituri. If you ask people, they will tell you that I am the one who ended war and nobody else," he said.
It is worth remembering that Ntaganda's nickname is "The Terminator" and that there are compelling and credible accounts of him committing serious war crimes, both in Ituri and more recently in North Kivu.
Ring Four:
Rwanda's New Times provides more detail on the meeting in Kinshasa last week between Rwanda's Chief of Defence Staff General James Kabarebe and his Congolese counterpart, Gen. Didier Etumba.
The meeting is a follow-up to earlier meetings between the foreign secretaries and army chiefs of the two countries to discuss how they can operationalize their joint military plan to uproot negative forces in the volatile eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
UPDATE, 1/13: Digital Congo reports that Kabila's Cabinet met on Monday and agreed to disarm by force the FDLR and other militia groups operating in eastern Congo. Although the Congolese army lacks the capacity to disarm the FDLR on its own, a fact the Cabinet is surely aware of, this public commitment gives the government the cover to cooperate with the Rwandan army.
In general, the willingness of the region's governments to cooperate across borders in hunting down rebel movements that take refuge in each others' countries is a positive development. We saw an example of this last month with South Sudan, Congolese, and Ugandan troops tracking down the LRA, with assistance from MONUC. For the Congolese FARDC to ally with the Rwandan army in pursuit of the FLDR would be major development. Removing the FDLR from eastern Congo would eliminate one of the primary sources of instability in the region, help normalize relations between Congo and Rwanda, and constitute a major step toward peace.
Negotiations are said to be "continuing" in Nairobi between the Kabila government and the CNDP rebels, and to be focused on securing a possible cease fire.
Ring Two:
The LRA, in flight since a Uganda-led assault on their encampments in northeastern Congo on December 14, have attacked the gold-mining village of Sambia, 130km east of Dungu, in Orientale province, says IRIN, the UN OCHA news agency. The attack led to several deaths and caused almost 10,000 people to flee their homes. An OCHA briefing on the humanitarian crisis in Ituri is available here.
Ring Three:
More details are emerging from the interview Bosco Ntaganda gave to journalists last week from his home farm in Kabati, which Reuters first reported on last week. Ntaganda led an apparently unsuccessful attempt to overthrow Laurent Nkunda as leader of the CNDP, perhaps, it is thought, because Nkunda was preparing to turn him over to international authorities. Ntaganda is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes he committed in Ituri province in 2005.
Today, the Institute for War and Peace Reporting says that Ntaganda is ready to face Hague prosecutors – but not just yet. "I will go to The Hague when it is the right time," Ntaganda told IWPR during a January 8 meeting with journalists.
But first, Ntaganda said, he has to help bring peace to the Kivus. Accusing Nkunda of blocking the peace process, he offered his CNDP troops to fight alongside the Congolese army to disarm the Rwandan Hutu Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, FDLR, which he says are at the root of the problem.
It is not clear, however, how many CNDP troops Ntaganda controls. The CNDP's spokesman, who remains loyal to Nkunda, has said that Ntaganda brought no troops and no weapons with him when he arrived from Ituri.
As for the indictment against him, Ntaganda sounds fairly sanguine: "There are positive things I did in Ituri. If you ask people, they will tell you that I am the one who ended war and nobody else," he said.
It is worth remembering that Ntaganda's nickname is "The Terminator" and that there are compelling and credible accounts of him committing serious war crimes, both in Ituri and more recently in North Kivu.
Ring Four:
Rwanda's New Times provides more detail on the meeting in Kinshasa last week between Rwanda's Chief of Defence Staff General James Kabarebe and his Congolese counterpart, Gen. Didier Etumba.
The meeting is a follow-up to earlier meetings between the foreign secretaries and army chiefs of the two countries to discuss how they can operationalize their joint military plan to uproot negative forces in the volatile eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
UPDATE, 1/13: Digital Congo reports that Kabila's Cabinet met on Monday and agreed to disarm by force the FDLR and other militia groups operating in eastern Congo. Although the Congolese army lacks the capacity to disarm the FDLR on its own, a fact the Cabinet is surely aware of, this public commitment gives the government the cover to cooperate with the Rwandan army.
In general, the willingness of the region's governments to cooperate across borders in hunting down rebel movements that take refuge in each others' countries is a positive development. We saw an example of this last month with South Sudan, Congolese, and Ugandan troops tracking down the LRA, with assistance from MONUC. For the Congolese FARDC to ally with the Rwandan army in pursuit of the FLDR would be major development. Removing the FDLR from eastern Congo would eliminate one of the primary sources of instability in the region, help normalize relations between Congo and Rwanda, and constitute a major step toward peace.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Ebola Toll Lowered; Massacre Toll Raised
Good news, bad news:
The World Health Organization says that only two of a suspected 35 cases of Ebola have been confirmed in Kasai, contradicting earlier accounts of 11 deaths and 92 other suspected cases. Neither of the two cases was fatal.
The aid group Caritas says that the LRA killed 400 people in northeastern Congo over Christmas. This is up from earlier reports of 187 killed.
The World Health Organization says that only two of a suspected 35 cases of Ebola have been confirmed in Kasai, contradicting earlier accounts of 11 deaths and 92 other suspected cases. Neither of the two cases was fatal.
The aid group Caritas says that the LRA killed 400 people in northeastern Congo over Christmas. This is up from earlier reports of 187 killed.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Massacres, Sexual Abuse, and Ebola
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OCHA, the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, reports that the LRA has massacred 189 people in northeast Congo over the past three days: 40 in Faradje district, 89 around Doruma and 60 in the Gurba area. The LRA is fleeing a Uganda-led offensive aimed at eliminating Joseph Kony, the LRA's enigmatic leader. (It is not clear if these numbers include the 45 reportedly hacked to death in a church in Doruma.) This means that the LRA are spread over an extensive region in northeast Congo, as this google earth screen grab shows. OCHA's report is here. Details: The LRA are said to currently occupy seven villages near Doruma. During their assault on Faradje, the LRA kidnapped approximately 20 children and burned 120 homes. They then fled toward Nagoro and Aba. The entire population of Faradje, some 30,000 people, is said to have fled to Tadu and Kpodo. MONUC condemned the massacre, and transported a company of Congolese soldiers to the town.
Meanwhile, MSF reports that 11 people have died in a recent outbreak of Ebola in Mweka, in Kasai Occidental and said another 24 are feared infected. It is the first Ebola outbreak in Africa since February and the fourth in DR Congo since 1976. Update: This report says 92 are feared infected.
And MONUC says it is investigating allegations of sexual abuse of minors by its peacekeeping troops posted in the Kivus.
Other than that, how was your Christmas?
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Is It Game Over for Kony? (Updated)
Ugandan New Vision reports that Ugandan, SPLA and Congolese troops are combing through the Garamba jungle for Joseph Kony, the elusive cult-like leader of the Lord's Resistance Army, one of the Africa's most violent rebel movements.
The joint attack force launched a surprise aerial bombardment on five of his camps on Sunday morning, sending rebel commanders and fighters into disarray.
Spokesperson for Operation Lightning Thunder Capt. Chris Magezi said yesterday the end of the LRA is around the corner.
“We are on the ground,” he said. “We are following him and his forces. We are advancing on his positions. Kony can run but he will soon run out of hiding places.”
Read the entire report. New Vision is to be commended for being ahead of the rest of the world in this fast-breaking story.
Update: More details available from the Daily Monitor. No mention of US involvement, although it does note that Jendayi Frazer earlier this year said Washington would not sit by and watch while Kony re-arm in Garamba.
The joint attack force launched a surprise aerial bombardment on five of his camps on Sunday morning, sending rebel commanders and fighters into disarray.
Spokesperson for Operation Lightning Thunder Capt. Chris Magezi said yesterday the end of the LRA is around the corner.
“We are on the ground,” he said. “We are following him and his forces. We are advancing on his positions. Kony can run but he will soon run out of hiding places.”
Read the entire report. New Vision is to be commended for being ahead of the rest of the world in this fast-breaking story.
Update: More details available from the Daily Monitor. No mention of US involvement, although it does note that Jendayi Frazer earlier this year said Washington would not sit by and watch while Kony re-arm in Garamba.
Lightning Strike on Kony
Ugandan New Vision reports that Sunday's joint attack by the DRC, SPLA, and Ugandan governments on Joseph Kony's rebels hiding in Garamaba forest has the backing of the American government and other Western powers. The operation is code named Lightning Thunder.
I suspect it's more than just "backing." I'd bet good money we provided the training, the logistics, the coordination, the equipment, the intelligence, and the transport. But good for us. There's nothing problematic in using US special forces on missions like these.
I suspect it's more than just "backing." I'd bet good money we provided the training, the logistics, the coordination, the equipment, the intelligence, and the transport. But good for us. There's nothing problematic in using US special forces on missions like these.
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