Background

The current conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRCongo), has been raging for over four years and has taken more lives than any other war since World War II. It is the deadliest documented conflict in African history, more than three and a half million people have lost their lives in the war.

Every day men, women, and children live in constant fear of being killed, robbed, raped, kidnapped, forced into military service, or displaced from their homes by rebels. Altogether seven countries are involved in the war, Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia backing the DRCongo government and Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi supporting anti-government rebels. The conflict is mainly based in the district of Ituri and is an outcome of intertwined confrontations. The Hema and Lendu communities are both the central actors and victims of ethnic strife over communal access to land, mineral resources and local power. Uganda, Rwanda and Kinshasa are also waging a proxy war in Ituri.

The recent withdrawal of the Ugandan army from Ituri has left a power vacuum in the area, resulting in fierce clashes between local armed militia groups vying for control. Hundreds of civilians were killed in these clashes and the UN peacekeeping mission in the Congo (MONUC) increased its presence in the area to 700 troops to help protect civilians. However, this number was still too little and the troops were forced to withdraw to their compound where they were surrounded by nearly 20,000 civilians seeking protection.

Today

Fighting still continues in the area and although the major cities in the area, such as Bunia, are relatively secure, the rural areas are engulfed in fighting. MONUC currently has 10,715 (as of May 31, 2004) peacekeepers operating in the DRCongo, though the majority of these are concentrated in urban areas, leaving the rural area unprotected and dangerous.

The recent fighting in Bukavu is only the latest manifestation of massive violations of international human rights and humanitarian law due to ever eroding security.

Rebel combatants that have not joined the transitional process seek to oppose integration into the new DRC army and to challenge the authority of the fragile DRC transitional government through means of violence and force. Rebel leaders have apparently encouraged or tolerated these challenges while at the same participating in the transitional government. The transitional authorities in Kinshasa have failed to stop the violence. The last several months have been rife with the documentation of war crimes and other human rights abuses.

By June, Rwanda and the DRC were on the verge of war as rebel troops looted the eastern Congolese town of Bukavu, raping and executing civilians. President Joseph Kabila accused the Tutsi regime in Rwanda of aiding rebel forces in capturing Bukavu, while encountering only minor pockets of resistance after Congolese troops had fled. As protests in Kinshasa over the fall of Bukavu became violent, arrangements were made for the evacuation of the families of UN peacekeepers from the capital. As protestors surrounded the French embassy, two peacekeepers were dragged from their car by a mob and severely beaten, while UN forces shot dead three people who attempted to enter their compound.

The resolve of the rebels appears to have been strengthened by a sense of vengeance propagated by the apparent killing of Tutsi civilians by government forces. This, coupled with the lack of success of UN peacekeepers whose mission is to impose last years accord to end the fighting, has exacerbated the feeling of helplessness of the innocents caught up in the conflict and those trying to put a stop to it.

Rwanda denies backing the rebel forces in the DRC, but asserts that President Kabila is preparing to slaughter Congolese Tutsis, known as Banyamulenge, who live in the east of the country. Abdulkarim Harelimana, Kigali's former interior minister, commented that "if genocide occurs, Rwanda will give itself the right to cross the border."

Monuc

Many commentators argue that the UN mission in the DRC (MONUC) is an epic and uphill struggle, certainly in the light of its current success rate and the challenges that the organization faces. Not only does it lack the necessary resources to effectively police the region, it has also suffered massive criticism regarding its methods. Worst of all for UN credibility are claims that its troops have sexually abused children, prompting demands for MONUC’s American Head, William Swing, to resign.

The capture of Bukavu threatens to crack the fragile peace structure and plunge the DRC back into turmoil. Violent demonstrations across the country emphasize enormous discontent with the UN, whose forces have apparently been unable to act while civilians have been raped, looted and murdered. Last year a European intervention force led by France managed to calm the situation in the north-eastern district of Ituri to an extent, although unfortunately the UN has failed to attain similar success further south due to the lack an effective mandate to stop the fighting. Once again the UN finds its hand somewhat tied.

The rebel commander, Brigadier General Laurent Nkunda, has promised to withdraw from Bukavu but the local people remain skeptical of his promise and continue to live in abject terror of the militants. Although the UN has begun to patrol the streets on a regular basis, those whose lives have been torn apart by violence have little expectation that this will improve their situation. This is echoed by the UN troops themselves, with one patrol commenting that “if they want to kill each other, then there is nothing we can do.” Furthermore, the apparent retreat of rebel forces from the city has come at a price for the UN too, as two UN peacekeepers were gunned down on June 6 near Goma, north of Bukavu.

The UN mission is marred by many problems and handicaps. One UN patrol led by South African troops neither knew the geography of the town, nor spoke French or Swahili – the languages spoken by the rebels. Their requests for translators had been refused due to an inadequate budget for the mission. Such challengers are having a toll on the UN troops in the Congo, along with the spiraling morale of both the international troops and the innocents in the war-torn region.

On June 24, 2004 the International Criminal Court began its first formal investigation of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity that have been referred to the Court by President Kabila.
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Last Updated July 14, 2004