Mayhem in Congo - 537 Killed, Over a Hundred Thousand Flee | War and Peace

Mayhem in Congo - 537 Killed, Over a Hundred Thousand Flee

Published January 14, 2009 @ 03:00PM PT

[Footage of the LRA in Congo from instablogs]

Again, to take a little break from the all Gaza, all the time approach, some fairly depressing news from northeastern Congo. According to a January 13th press briefing by a spokesman from the UN High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR):

"We are increasingly concerned about the humanitarian situation and continuing attacks by the Ugandan rebel group, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), on the civilian population in the Democratic Republic of the Congo's (DRC) Oriental Province.

According to UNHCR's team in the regional centre of Dungu, the death toll in the province bordering Uganda and South Sudan is now estimated at 537 people. Another 408 people have been kidnapped by the LRA since the outbreak of violence in September last year, including victims abducted in attacks over the past four days.

Rough estimates of the number of forcibly displaced in this part of the DRC have now surpassed 104,000. Many of these internally displaced people (IDPs) are still hiding in the bush...More than 10,000 of them are children."

Which is bad enough, except for the fact that other parts of Congo are arguably even worse. For instance, there was large-scale fighting throughout late 2008 in North Kivu province, where rebels under Laurent Nkunda battled both the Congolese army and UN peacekeepers. The fighting caused over 250,000 civilians to flee their homes - the lucky ones sought refuge in makeshift camps; the rest wandered, looking for safety.

There are recent reports of renewed fighting in North Kivu province, as well as increasing threats against civilians in displaced person camps. According to the blog Stop the War in North Kivu:

"In the last two weeks, soldiers [around Kiwanja] have been asking IDPs to pay 2 U$ per day as a 'tax to remain in the IDP camp'. Things are going far beyond. CNDP soldiers are threatening men, women and children to occupy their homes if they do not return home. Some of the houses have been seized, and padlocks have been placed in some visible door entrances to increase pressure.

As readers of this blog know, IDPs remain in the camp of Kiwanja because they fear for their lives."

And, if that wasn't bad enough, Nkunda's rebels are beginning to splinter, with Jean Bosco Ntaganda challenging Nkunda's control.

Nkunda is a vicious bastard, but Ntaganda is little better - according to the excellent Enough Project blog, Ntaganda is already wanted by the International Criminal Court for recruiting child soldiers. Not to mention that Ntaganda goes by the name "The Terminator". Touching.

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Comments (5)

What does one even say to this? If the DRC was geopolitically important to the West or --even better-- had an al Qaeda presence, you can bet Washington and Brussels would care a heck of a lot more. But, instead, it *just* has the deadliest conflict in sixty four years and a regionally destabilizing humanitarian catastrophe.

Posted by Transitionl... . on 01/14/2009 @ 06:23PM PT
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I couldn't agree more,

MBK

Posted by Michael Bear on 01/14/2009 @ 06:37PM PT
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Petition Calling on UN (MONUC) to arrest NTAGANDA wantedWanted by the ICCThe UN in Congo(MONUC) is not doing enough to arrest NTAGANDA for his committed war crimes
The Mobilization for Justice and Peace in D.R. Congo (MJPC) announced today that it has launched a new online petition that can be signed at http://www.gopetition.com.au/online/24459.html asking concerned citizens around the world to demand MONUC to take concrete actions to arrest Bosco Ntaganda wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes.

MONUC is currently the largest UN peacekeeping mission in the world with more than 17,600 uniformed personnel from 58 countries with an annual budget of more than $1bn.

In April 2008, the International Criminal Court (ICC) unsealed the warrant of arrest against Mr. NTAGANDA whic was first issued on 22 August 2006 by Pre-Trial Chamber I. The Chamber concluded that there were reasonable grounds to believe that from July 2002 to end of December 2003, Mr. NTAGANDA had played an essential role in enlisting and conscripting children under the age of fifteen years into the FPLC and using them to participate actively in hostilities.

According to Amede KYUBWA, Executive Director of MJPC, "concerned citizens around the world are being asked to contribute to the arrest of NTAGANDA by putting pressure on MONUC to take whatever necessary actions to arrest this war criminal." He decried MONUC's failure to take appropriate action to arrest him despite evidence showing that they know his whereabouts. MJPC urges MONUC to treat those who have committed war crimes in Congo as criminals and refrain from helping them to be appointed to high governmental posts. "rewarding war criminals with the governmental posts does nothing else than promoting more war criminals, preventing justice to thousands of victims including children and women who have suffered at the hands of these criminals and it shamefully contradicts directly the values and principles of the U.N" said Mr. KYUBWA

As part of its global campaign to help end the cycle of violence and impunity in Congo, MJPC lounched it first online petition in November 2008 calling for MONUC to immediately arrest notorious war criminal NKUNDA which can still be signed http://www.gopetition.com/online/23604.html. So far more than 1085 people have signed the petition, including those from Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, USA, Kenya, Rwanda, France, German, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, the Philippines, South Africa, Malawi, Burundi, Senegal, Nigeria, Spain, Japan, the UK, Venezuela, Itali, Ethiopia, China, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, and Uganda.

About the MJPC.
MJPC seeks to add a voice in advocating for justice and peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo particulary in the east of the D.R. Congo where thousands innocent civilian including children and women continue to suffer massive human rights violations while armed groups responsible for these crimes go unpunished. Visit the Online Museum of Victims of War in Congo in Congo at http://www.yoursilenceoncongo.org to see the unacceptable barbarity that you could help stop by signing the petition. For more information on MJPC and the activities, visit the wbsite www.mjpcongo.org. or call Amede Kyubwa @ 916 753 5717. The online petitions can be signed at the following addresses: for arresting NKUNDA at http://www.gopetition.com/online/23604.html and arresting NTAGANDA at http://www.gopetition.com.au/online/24459.html

Posted by rizik kipya on 01/15/2009 @ 08:19PM PT
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Many of those affected in this war, mostly women and children are fleeing to Uganda. The Ugandan military promises them safety in exchange for sex then drop them off at the border. Some end up pregnant and have little else to turn to besides prostitution. You can read more here: http://www.saritahartz.com
or you can help: http://www.zionproject.org

Posted by Sarita Hartz on 01/18/2009 @ 03:00AM PT
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(PLEASE TAKE ACTIONS NOW) (AGISSONS MAINTENANT S.V.P)

Click here to add your name on the list of concerned citizens like your self around the world who are calling for the UN and KABILA to immediately arrest NTAGANDA wanted by the ICC for war crimes and crimes against humanity in east Congo
http://www.gopetition.com.au/online/24459.html

Cliquez ici pour ajouter votre nom sur la liste des citoyens concernés, comme vous-même à travers le monde qui demandent à l'ONU et KABILA d'arrêter immédiatement NTAGANDA recherché par la CPI pour crimes de guerre et crimes contre l'humanité dans l'est du Congo. http://www.gopetition.com.au/online/24459.html

Posted by makuba sekombo on 02/10/2009 @ 07:14PM PT
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Author

Michael has worked for NGOs in Afghanistan, across east and central Africa, and Iraq. Prior to going overseas, he worked on a project providing assistance to the United Nations on the application of International Humanitarian Law to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.