In less than a month, national elections are scheduled for the Congo.  Yesterday, official campaigning began all across the DRC.  Here in Sud Kivu, we are all holding our breath a little bit.  This will only be the third national multiparty election in the history of the Congo.

So far, many observers see this election as a referendum on incumbent President Joseph Kabila, who took over as interim president when his father was assassinated in 2001 and won Congo’s first real national election in 2006.  Kabila’s political party is the PPRD.

In 2006, Kabila easily carried Sud Kivu Province, as he was considered a “native son” (as opposed to “people-eating” Jean-Pierre Bemba) who reunited the country and ended the Rwandan occupation.  However, since then, Kabila’s reputation in Sud Kivu has suffered for a number of reasons:

1)     Many “autochtone” Congolese (Babembe, Bafulero, Bashi) are angry that Kabila “shook hands with the devil” when he improved relations with Paul Kagame in Rwanda.  During Operations Kimya II and Amani Leo in 2010-2011, the boots of Rwandan soldiers were once again on Congolese soil to assist the largely unmotivated and ineffective FARDC in pursuing the FDLR.  The population of Sud Kivu, who will not easily forget how badly they suffered under brutal Rwandan occupation, are not ready to forgive Kabila for this compromise.  Even after official Rwandan presence has all but disappeared from Sud Kivu, many “autochtone” still feel that the Rwandophone ethnic minorities hold too much power in the regional governments and in the armed forces.  It doesn’t help that many high-ranking PPRD members in Sud Kivu used to belong to the rather unpopular RCD regime of the late 90s/early 2000s.

2)     The lack of development in Sud Kivu (as well as in the rest of the Congo) is still astoundingly awful for a country so rich in mineral resources.  Early in his regime, Kabila promised great developments in the “Cinq Chantiers”, a series of improvements to five aspects of the Congo (schools, roads, etc).  However, in Sud Kivu, unemployment rates are still high, the roads are awful, and the education system is in a dismal state.  Having promised great things, many Congolese people now see Kabila responsible for the failure of development in the Congo.

3)     Security remains very bad in Sud Kivu.  The FDLR has been pushed back further into the jungle in the past few years, but the local populations have suffered under the hands of FARDC troops.  Furthermore, there has been no real resolution to the war and insecurity, despite the fact that many armed groups have been induced to join the FARDC through promises of cash and impunity.  Many people in Sud Kivu dissatisfied by Kabila believe that he should try harder at making a deal with the FDLR, instead of continuing what they believe is a “Rwandan” war.  Thus, many hold Kabila responsible for the lawless, violent, and undisciplined behavior of state-endorsed troops, as well as the lack of resolution to the “fires in the East”.

The discontent with Kabila’s regime explains why groups such as Mai Mai Yakutumba maintain a certain level of popularity in Sud Kivu, particularly among the Babembe elite in Fizi Territory, who resent Rwandophone ethnic minorities and feel disenchanted by their perceived lack of political power at the national/regional level.

Kabila’s growing unpopularity in the East has also fueled a number of myths about his intentions and his origins.  It is easy to find Congolese people in Sud Kivu who will tell you that Kabila is (my goodness) a “Tutsi spy”, a puppet installed and kept in power by the Rwandan government.  There are many circulating stories about Kabila’s mother being a “Rwandan Tutsi”, which, despite their apocryphal nature, may actually be possible, given what we know about the women who orbited around Laurent-Desire Kabila.  Of course, does it really matter where Petit Joseph’s mother came from?  No.  This kind of xenophobic name-calling, unfortunately, is rather counterproductive and does nothing to improve the image of Sud Kivutians as racist Génocidaires 2.0.

I have explained why Kabila is a rather unpopular choice here in Sud Kivu.  However, there is still the possibility that he will carry Sud Kivu in the election, given the dismal state of the political opposition.  In my next blog entry, I will write about those who will be running for president against Major General Joseph Kabila Kabange.

More news from Uvira/Fizi:

On 10/24, Mai Mai rebels attacked a FARDC position in the village of Kabumbe, next to the village of Mukwesi.  In the attack, 4 civilians were killed and 3 injured, and the FARDC suffered 2 dead and 2 injured.  Kabumbe/Mukwesi is about 2 hours south of Uvira, close to the town of Mboko.  The attackers allegedly belonged to Mai Mai Pascal, an armed group loyal to Pascal Bwasakala, a former protégé of Yakutumba.  The day after the Mai Mai attack, FARDC troops arrived to reinforce the position.  However, the attack prompted massive IDP movements away from Kabumbe/Mukwesi, leaving the villages virtually empty of inhabitants.  OCHA is cautioning all humanitarian workers passing through the Swima-Mboko area to only travel in vehicle convoys.  Furthermore, OCHA warns that if the situation persists or deteriorates, agencies will be forced to travel with a PAKBATT escort.

There are continuing inter-ethnic tensions in Tulambo and Maranda, two villages in the Massif d’Itombwe, a large forest in the Haut Plateau of Fizi.  Just since 10/21, clashes between the Bembe and Banyamulenge communities have left 4 wounded and 3 dead.  This next week, MONUSCO and several local NGOs are poised to launch a Joint Assessment Mission to the area.

On 10/21, the population of Kahanda, a village in Uvira Territory close to the town of Lemera, fled due to the arrival of Mai Mai Bede, a small band of armed men loyal to ex-FARDC commander Col. Bede Safari.  Col. Bede defected from the FARDC in 2010, and his troops only number in the dozens.  However, his arrival still precipitated a panicked IDP movement of around 64 households.  FARDC troops stationed nearby went to Kahanda to hunt down the Mai Mai Bede, but the rebels were warned in advance and fled before the FARDC arrived.

In addition, there are further reports of violence and insecurity occurring just this week: 2 nurses killed in Buhonde by unidentified armed men, 3 civilians kidnapped in Kalungwe, and a traditional chief shot in the night in Kitundu.  This is all just human-on-human violence; this past week rainy season floods have also destroyed part of the town of Sange, on the Rusizi Plain in Uvira Territory.  The damage includes the destruction of 500 houses, 3 schools, 1 bridge, and several fields.  The casualty toll from the flooding currently sits 5 dead and 2 severely injured.

So, what is the situation in Uvira/Fizi these days?   There are wars and rumors of wars.  With the elections approaching, the activity of armed groups, most notably Mai Mai Yakutumba in the Ubwari Peninsula, has reached its highest level yet in 2011.

Vacillating internal displacement has created a host of humanitarian concerns in/around the Ubwari Peninsula, where the most concentrated fighting has occurred between FARDC forces and the allied Mai Mai Yakutumba/FNL/FDLR rebels.  As rumors of combat sweep through the villages and towns of the Ubwari, civilians will flee before fighting turns up in their locality.  Alternately, IDPs will return home immediately if fighting has ceased or has not occurred in their area.  However, this has created a yo-yo effect, with civilians fleeing and returning home multiple times over the last several months.  In some cases, returning IDPs are crossing paths with fleeing IDPs from their home areas.  An additional concern is that there is not enough of a humanitarian presence in/around the Ubwari to monitor the situation and respond to humanitarian concerns resulting from the back-and-forth IDP movements.

In one of their most recent monitoring reports, Arche d’Alliance reported that between 8/24 and 9/22, approximately 2,375 persons fled to Baraka alone; these IDPs arrived from the Ubwari, as well as from towns such as Kazimia and Sebele.

Since August, battles between FARDC and allied Mai Mai/FNL/FDLR forces have been reported in the following locations: Nemba, Talama, Yungu, Kikonde, Katenga, Sebele, and Karamba.

Due to the large numbers of IDPs fleeing the Ubwari, MONUSCO deployed Egyptian troops to Sebele to set up a TOB (Temporary Operations Base).  However, on October 19^th, MONUSCO recalled the Egyptians, despite the request of the humanitarian community in Fizi Territory to extend the TOB.  According to OCHA sources, civilians in Sebele are now afraid of reprisal due to the lack of a MONUSCO troops presence.

On October 9^th, gunshots were heard in the proximity of Baraka, sending the population into a panic.  For a while, reports were that Mai Mai Yakutumba were fighting the FARDC in the streets of Baraka, and therefore poised to take the most important town in all of Fizi.  However, it was soon revealed that the rumors were false.  Nonetheless, commerce through Baraka remains difficult because of Yakutumba’s presence on Lake Tanganyika, and prices of basic goods are reported to be soaring.

OCHA sources in Baraka report that since the increase in combat (and increase in FARDC fighting forces in their area), there has been a rise in human rights abuses committed by troops against civilians.  Monitors have cited multiple incidents of arbitrary arrests, extortion, and general harassment.  One must remember that there is quite a bit of mutual distrust and suspicion between the FARDC troops, many of which are not from Fizi, and the local population.

An interesting effect of the rising (and continuing) violence and warfare is that Congolese refugee repatriations are all but nonexistent in this area.  Since the days of the Congo Wars, people from Uvira/Fizi have fled to neighboring countries, in particular Burundi and Tanzania.  Despite the fact that President Joseph Kabila has claimed that the “fire in the East is only embers”, the news of continuing unrest has reached the ears of refugees, and they are not ready to come back to a region where lives and livelihoods are still at risk.  Another sad aspect of the entire affair is that the Tanzanian government is starting to use coercive methods to “encourage” Congolese refugees in their country to repatriate.

In general, the recent increase in the activity of certain non-state armed groups is very disheartening.  Many of these armed groups, including so-called “local defense leagues”, continue to commit acts of sexual violence and paralyze the economy through extortion and larceny.  Their behavior mirrors the well-documented human rights abuses of the FARDC, many of whom were formerly members of rebel groups themselves.  There is nothing that “new” about these groups; the non-state armed groups, such as the various “Mai Mai” movements, have existed for over 10 years in eastern Congo.  However, possibly the most disturbing aspect about the actions of these non-state armed groups is the excuse that their violent behavior is but a means of political expression, communicating through robbery and rape their dissatisfaction with the Congolese government.  No roads?  No hospitals?  No jobs?  Rape women!  That will get Kabila’s attention!

The current pre-election conditions in Uvira/Fizi are indicative of a number of Congolese problems: the lack of faith in elections and the political system, the continuing impunity of armed groups, the lack of effective security resources, the staggering injustices resulting from deep-seated gender inequality, and the use of violence as a means of political expression.

As the election date grows closer, we hold our breath.  There is not much hope that the outcome of the election will necessarily signal a change for improvements in the Congolese political system, no matter who gets elected, but one wishes that the “Fire in the East” would be extinguished instead of downplayed and ignored.

Vehicle rented by SOS FED that is similar to the Eben-Ezer vehicle that was attacked

Vehicle rented by SOS FED that is similar to the Eben-Ezer vehicle that was attacked

On Tuesday, October 5^th, I awoke to the sounds of wailing coming from outside my house.  I stepped outside to investigate, and was greeted by a crowd of people loudly mourning outside of the office of Eben-Ezer Ministry, right across the street from my residence.  There had been an ambush the night before, and the director of Eben-Ezer, along with several of his staff, had been killed.

Eben-Ezer Ministry is a local faith-based NGO that works primarily in education in Fizi and Uvira Territories.  I have been introduced to several of the members of Eben-Ezer, and would see them across the street and wave to them on a daily basis.

On October 4^th, around 17h, a vehicle belonging to Eben-Ezer Ministry, containing 14 passengers, was ambushed by Mai Mai Yakutumba.  The attack occurred in a remote area known as Echibe, about 18 km from Baraka on the road to Fizi Centre.  In the attack, the Mai Mai allegedly fired an RPG 7 rocket-propelled grenade at the vehicle.  7 people were killed, 5 of them workers for Eben-Ezer.  According to the Territorial Administrator of Fizi, 3 others were wounded by gunfire and 4 women were kidnapped by the assailants.  The survivors of the attack have alleged that among the perpetrators were members of the FNL (a Burundian rebel group exiled in the Congo) and the FDLR (a Rwandan Hutu nationalist group).

The Territorial Administrator also asserted that the FARDC was able to chase down and kill two of the perpetrators responsible for the massacre.

On the same evening, just before the Eben-Ezer ambush, a motorcycle taxi carrying a policeman and a FARDC soldier was attacked nearby.  All three persons were killed.  It is believed that the same armed men who attacked the Eben-Ezer vehicle were also responsible for this incident.

The UN has released a statement condemning the attacks and calling for the Congolese government to do more to protect humanitarians.  During the subsequent days after the attacks, I could hear quite a few UN helicopters going back-and-forth between Uvira and Fizi.  According to the UN press release, there have been approximately 140 reported security incidents involving humanitarian workers in Nord Kivu and Sud Kivu since the beginning of 2011.

The local FARDC commander, Col. Delphin Kahimbi, condemned the Mai Mai for “missing their targets” in attacking civilians.  Col. Kahimbi said that the Mai Mai had the time to verify the object of their “ambush” as being a group of civilians, and therefore have no excuse.  While Col. Kahimbi’s words ring true, his statement is somewhat ironic considering the conduct of the FARDC during Kimiya II and Amani Leo and their own disregard for the rules of engagement.

One stark reality is that there is very little security for anyone traveling in Fizi Territory, especially considering that the MONUSCO troop presence is weak and the FARDC troop presence can be quite ineffective.  Every day, humanitarians, along with the ordinary citizens of Fizi, must risk their lives in order to carry out their work.  This latest incident, though sadly preventable, was probably inevitable, considering the lack of security and the increasing level of combat between armed groups in Fizi Territory.  One wonders if the Congolese government and MONUSCO will start to take things a bit more seriously in terms of taking preventative action, instead of arriving at the scene too late to prevent murder, torture, and rape.

Another sinister dimension to the entire sad affair: there are quite a few people that believe that the Eben-Ezer vehicle was targeted by the Mai Mai because it belonged to a “Banyamulenge” NGO.  In 2011, Mai Mai Yakutumba leadership has released several statements demanding the removal of “Rwandan” (i.e. Rwandophone) troops from South Kivu; Yakutumba has used widespread resentment against abusive Rwandan/Rwandophone troops to build support for his agenda, to the detriment of relations between Congolese Rwandophone communities, such as the Banyamulenge, and the “autochtone” tribes of Babembe, Bafulero, and Bavira.  A prominent Banyamulenge leader, Enock Ruberangabo, has called this attack “ethnic conflict at a local level”.  However, one must remember that as long as armed groups operate with impunity in the Kivus, all civilians, regardless of ethnicity, are at risk of being attacked.

Over the past few days, my neighborhood has been filled with a constant stream of mourners coming to Eben-Ezer Ministry to express their condolences.  The sounds of pained wailing have disappeared, but there is still a heavy spirit of bereavement hanging over the quartier.  The humanitarian community in Uvira/Fizi has suffered a great loss, and we are all reminded of the risks that must be taken in order to assist vulnerable populations, fight for social justice, and struggle for development in the Congo.

Jungle path in Fizi Territory

Jungle path in Fizi Territory

Capt. Issokelo Didier, FARDC Magistrate

Capt. Issokelo Didier, FARDC Magistrate

On Thursday, September 1st, I arrived at the military tribunal of Uvira, based on an invitation from the head magistrate, Captain Issokelo Didier. In terms of what I focus on (the fight against sexual violence), there was not too much to learn. However, I found some aspects of the experience to be quite interesting:

-While waiting in the courtroom for the judges to arrive, I struck up a conversation with the three prisoners whose cases were to be heard that day. The three men, decked out in faded orange jumpsuits, were accused of being members of an “insurrectionist movement”, the Mai Mai; these accusations were the basis for their appearance in a military court as opposed to a civilian court. They had all been arrested in December 2009, and they said that this day in court was only the second time they had appeared before a judge since being arrested.

Waiting in court

Waiting in court

-The soldiers assigned to guarding the prisoners were a raggedy, if friendly, group of individuals. I struck up a conversation with a soldier named Jeannot, a miniscule and jocular soldier with several missing front teeth and a battered and dented AK-style assault rifle. I asked Jeannot when he joined the army, and he told me he had first joined as a soldier with the RCD in 1998. I asked him how old he was.

“I was born in 1984,” he said. If what he told me was the truth, this meant he had joined the army when he was fourteen. A year younger than me, and yet Jeannot had already marched as a soldier through 13 years of conflict.

Another soldier, Sergeant Alain, told me that he had joined as a kadogo (child soldier) with Laurent Kabila and the AFDL in 1996; again, he did not look that much older than myself.

I asked the soldiers where they were from. Jeannot told me he was a Mubembe from Fizi Territory. I found many of the soldiers were from Fizi, but there were quite a number from all over the Congo, including Bas-Congo, Nord Kivu, and Katanga. Indeed, this group of soldiers appeared to be the most diverse group of Congolese I had ever seen, from the short Babembe to the towering Katangans. They spoke with each other in an interesting mix of Kiswahili, French, and Lingala. Normally, I do not interact with Congolese soldiers, since under different circumstances they might harass me or worse, but this time it was interesting to see the ordinary FARDC foot soldier “up close”.

Jeannot

Jeannot

-The three military judges were a panel of stern-looking, stern-talking FARDC captains who seemed to speak to the prisoners only in admonishments, alternating between French and Kiswahili. During the court recess, all of them lit up noxious cigarettes, which explained the generally stale, sour odor in the courtroom. When I asked the judges about their qualifications, they simply shrugged their shoulders and said that the military had assigned them to this post.

-All three prisoners had the same lawyer representing them, and after a few opening statements, the lawyer disappeared. After a while, the judges had to call a recess, since the prisoners had no legal representation; since their conviction would carry the death penalty, the judges decided that the trial could proceed no further until the three had a trained jurist present on their behalf. The three prisoners complained that the lawyer was charging them a lot of money ($1500), but doing little work. Since no one of them could afford to hire a lawyer himself, they had pooled their resources to hire one to represent all three of them.

-When I asked Capt. Didier if the death penalty had ever been carried out in Uvira against soldiers convicted of “supporting insurrection”, he shook his head no. He told me that if someone is convicted and sentenced to die, he immediately writes a letter to President Kabila asking for amnesty on behalf of the prisoner.

-According to the new rules set out for FARDC military justice, a FARDC officer can only be tried and convicted by officers of his own rank or greater. Thus, if anyone above Capt. Didier’s rank were being investigated (say, a colonel), a group of higher-ranking judges would have to come down from Bukavu to render a judicial decision in the case.

-Capt. Didier complained quite a bit about the lack of resources allocated to him and his team at the Auditorat. He told me that if an investigator opens a dossier in Shabunda, it may take up to a month for the dossier to arrive in Uvira. I asked if he had pleaded to his superiors for more resources, and he claimed that he had, but to no avail. Capt. Didier also claimed he did not have the resources to hold more military courts or open much-needed parquets in parts of Sud Kivu far away from the tribunal in Uvira. When I look at the dismal state of military justice in Sud Sud Kivu, I wonder about all the resources that numerous organizations (United Nations, European Union, etc) have dedicated to stabilization and security sector reform, and whether any of it is reaching our far-flung corner of the Congo.

Overall, the overwhelming feeling I got from attending this trial was frustration with the Congolese judicial process, both civilian and military. However, it was an eye-opening experience, and I learned quite a bit.

One wonders if the landmark trial and conviction of Col. Kibibi Mutware earlier this year was a start of a new trend or simply an irregular blip in a region fraught with impunity for members of armed groups. Not much of what I saw and heard in my experience with the Uvira Auditorat supported the former. I am willing to give Congolese military justice the benefit of the doubt, but I also believe it is about time both the Congolese government and their international partners take a closer look at what is going on.

If you are interested more in the Congolese justice system, please refer to one of my blogs from 2009, where I visited the Tribunal de la Paix, a court where civil cases are heard. If you want to read about community justice and mediation, here is a blog about a case heard at the Comite de Mediation et Conciliation in Luvungi.

On Tuesday, August 30, I attended the monthly meeting of the Uvira CTLVS (Comite Territoriale de la Lutte contre la Violence Sexuelle). The meeting broke down into the usual litany of complaints about lack of cooperation and initiative, since none of the member organizations in the CTLVS seem to want to work together or share their information with the CTLVS focal points.

At this particular CTLVS meeting, a captain from the FARDC showed up, wearing a crisp green uniform with polished epaulettes and gold braids. This captain was a magistrate, a member of the military justice division (“Auditoirat”) of the FARDC. Most recently, the FARDC military justice wing played a crucial role in convicting Col. Kibibi and his men for the January 1st mass rape in Fizi Centre. Every month, a number of cases are heard at the military court in Uvira, mostly stemming from incidents occurring close to Uvira town. However, in more remote, though well-documented, incidents in Uvira/Fizi (Kikozi, Nyakiele), FARDC military justice has been rather slow in even bringing the accused to trial.

I decided to ask the FARDC magistrate about his job and the history of the Auditoirat. He told me that the military justice wing had existed since 2003, when the modern incarnation of the Congolese military was created; their mandate is to investigate/redress wrongs committed by members of the military, as well as teach discipline and good behavior to the troops. In this part of South Kivu, the central Auditoriat based in Uvira is charged with military justice for the territories of Uvira, Fizi, Mwenga, and Shabunda. All cases are heard before the tribunal in Uvira before a panel of military judges; the magistrate himself serves as a prosecutor/investigator. The parquet performs investigations of infractions, prepares the legal dossiers, and presents the cases before the military tribunal. In June, a permanent military parquet opened in the town of Baraka in Fizi Territory, where several months prior a mobile military court (Audience foraine) had handed down Col. Kibibi’s conviction and sentence. Aside from the parquet in Uvira and the secondary parquet in Baraka, there are only “inspectors” present in Misisi, Kametuga, and Shabunda Centre, making the coverage of military justice fairly poor for a very large area (4 of the biggest territories in South Kivu).

I asked the magistrate if he felt that the FARDC today was a more disciplined body than it was eight years ago; his answer was an emphatic “yes”. I asked if FARDC troops cooperated with him in terms of carrying out justice and promoting good behavior within the ranks. Again, he said yes, but then he qualified his statement by saying “in any family, there is never a lack of disobedient children”.

I brought up the case of Col. Kifaru and his defected men, the alleged perpetrators of the mass rape case in Nyakiele in June, who have since been re-absorbed by the FARDC. At this point, our conversation ground to a halt. When I asked at what stage the Auditoirat was in investigating the strong allegations of rape against Col. Kifaru and his men, the magistrate became vague and elusive.

“We are still investigating,” was all he would say.

When I delicately probed further for details, the magistrate refused to divulge any more information, citing “professional secrets”. Maybe commenting on an ongoing investigation would have been a bit out of line for a magistrate, but all promises of “carrying out justice” disappeared once Nyakiele was brought up. Later, one of my CTLVS contacts told me that since the Congolese government’s stance on Nyakiele is rather clear (“ignore/discredit”), the Auditoirat probably will have no support in bringing the perpetrators to justice.

This kind of foot-dragging has also characterized the response to the Kikozi incident; investigations by the Auditoirat and MONUSCO have identified the commanding officer responsible for the unit implicated in the March mass rape (Major Shaka Nyamusalaba), but despite numerous calls from local NGOs to bring Maj. Shaka to Uvira for trial, no such action has been taken.

At the end of our conversation, the magistrate cordially invited me to attend the military tribunal in Uvira proper later in the week. I am planning on taking up his offer, so stay tuned for more.

Col. Kifaru Niragiye and his troops have been re-absorbed into the FARDC, with no promise of prosecution or investigation on the role they played in the mass rapes in the Nyakiele/Abala/Kanguli area in June. We are still waiting for a military judge to bring charges against Col. Kifaru and his men. You may recall that on July 7th, Col. Kifaru and his troops, ex-PARECO combatants from North Kivu, entered the braçage center in Luberizi after deserting a few weeks before due to their discontent with the re-organization of the command structure of their unit.

SOS FED staff inspecting a map of Fizi Territory

SOS FED staff inspecting a map of Fizi Territory

However, there is a flip side to the braçage process: perhaps it has worked for certain units of the FARDC to the benefit of the Fizi community in general. During Operation Amani Leo in 2010, the SOS FED center in Kikonde was flooded with women who were raped by FARDC soldiers. However, according to the SOS FED staff, the behavior of FARDC soldiers in Kikonde and Kazimia has improved since their return from braçage.

“Before, when you saw an Amani Leo soldier in the street, you turned around and ran the other way,” said SOS FED center manager Sangho Laliya. “Now, we are much less afraid of them.”

The numbers of women arriving at the Kikonde center who have reported being raped by the FARDC is also dropping. According to the Kikonde/Kazimia staff, the braçage training has professionalized the soldiers in their area, leading to much fewer cases of human rights violations in their areas.

Obviously, not all FARDC soldiers are rapists or violent maniacs, and the testimony of the SOS FED center staff bears witness to the benefits of the braçage process to those who are willing to change. However, the Congolese government still has not answered the question of what is to be done with integrated armed groups who refuse to stop preying upon the population. The re-absorption of Col. Kifaru and the near standstill of the justice process for the Kikozi mass rape in March are glaring examples of the impunity enjoyed by many armed groups in South Kivu and the lack of social justice for those crushed under their heels.

The conflict, and its effects on civilians, is not quite abating in Fizi Territory.

The village of Mboko is situated about halfway down on the road between Uvira and Baraka. Mboko is sandwiched between Lake Tangayika, immediately to the east, and the mountains of the Moyen Plateau, which rise up to the west. The area of the Moyen/Haut Plateau to the west of Mboko is infested with armed groups, most notably Mai Mai militias, the FDLR, and Burundian FNL rebels.

SOS FED has one center in Mboko, providing services to survivors of sexual violence. The Mboko center has seen some rough days, especially when the surrounding area was a battleground between the Congolese military and various non-state armed groups in the mid-late 2000s. The Mboko center staff had noted that starting in end of 2010, the situation around Mboko was relatively calm due to FARDC actions that pushed the zone-of-combat away from the main road. However, that is now starting to change.

On August 3rd, armed men stopped and robbed 2 vehicles in the village of Ilila, about 15 minutes north of Mboko. In the incident, 7 women were raped; these women went to the MSF hospital in Baraka. There is no official confirmation as to the affiliation of the armed perpetrators, but the word around the area is that these men belong to a Mai Mai militia based in the Moyen Plateau just above the area.

On August 15, armed men (again, presumed Mai Mai) attacked civilians working in their fields near the village of Senza, just south of Mboko. About 13 women reported being raped in the attacks. SOS FED Mboko center manager Mariamu Bashishibe tells me she and her staff are making all effort to reach the survivors and provide them with assistance. In addition, several NGOs in the area, along with local authorities, are working together to help those who have fallen victim to these attacks.

In the month of August, the SOS FED center in Mboko has received two women from a village near Ilila that were attacked and raped in their homes by presumed Mai Mai assailants.

There are many more reports of attacks in the area, with rumors of alarmingly high numbers of rapes, but I am waiting for confirmation from several sources before I report on these other incidents. Please stay tuned for more in the coming weeks.

In general, it appears as though attacks on civilians on the Uvira-Baraka road are starting to pick up, particularly close to Mboko. According to people I spoke with in Mboko, the Mai Mai have successfully infiltrated the villages and seem to raid at will. What is the possible reason for this escalation in rape, pillage, and violence? The Mboko center staff connects the escalation to the general reduction of FARDC troops in the area since the braçage process started earlier this year for units based in Mboko. Earlier this year, the Mboko-area FARDC units went into braçage for training/re-equipment/re-organization. However, their units have returned back to Mboko in fewer numbers than before. While the reduction of total troop numbers in the Kivus is a positive change, especially considering the massive amount of human rights violations committed by the FARDC, the continued presence of armed groups such as the Mai Mai, FDLR, and FNL means that civilians will continue to suffer as non-state armed elements simply move into areas left empty by the FARDC.

The confused FARDC presence, paired with an almost total lack of effective MONUSCO troop presence in Fizi Territory, is making things rather easy for armed groups that wish to prey upon the civilian population. While the rest of Congo is supposed to be moving forward in terms of peace, security, and stability, Fizi Territory remains stuck.

Child with fish in Fizi Territory

Child with fish in Fizi Territory

In my previous blog entry, I reported about an ongoing situation in and around the village of Nyakiele, where defected FARDC soldiers loyal to Col. Kifaru Niragiye are terrorizing the local population, with many cases of mass rape and pillage. Col. Kifaru was a leader in the PARECO rebel movement, which recently made a deal with the Congolese government and integrated its forces into the Congolese military. Col. Kifaru and his soldiers left the braçage center in Kananda on June 9 to protest changes in the local command structure. Nyakiele is located in the Moyen Plateau of Fizi Territory, close to the territorial capital Fizi Centre.

Last night I spoke to a MONUSCO official who is directly involved in the investigation of this incident.  The MONUSCO official told me that a Joint Assessment Team was sent to Nyakiele on June 25.  This assessment team, comprised of members of MONUSCO, OCHA, UNHCR, and local NGO partners, spoke with survivors, health officials, and local authorities. According to health officials in Nyakiele, the number of women who have reported being raped by Col. Kifaru’s troops now stands at 121.

Official reports state that Col. Kifaru left the bracage center in Kananda with about 170 of his soldiers in tow. However, the population in Nyakiele is reporting that there are closer to 300 troops in the area. Whether Col. Kifaru has reunited with other ex-PARECO elements or whether he is collaborating with other elements remains to be seen.

Next steps: MONUSCO is planning on sending a Joint Protection Team to Nyakiele to protect the population from further aggression. I have not yet heard whether the Congolese military is planning any action against Col. Kifaru’s troops.

The level of brutality that this particular area of Fizi Territory is experiencing is astounding. Even more mind-boggling is how the realpolitik of Congo has allowed for such a situation: a former rebel group that terrorized the Kivus in the mid-2000s makes a deal with the Congolese government and integrates itself into the state military, as the resources (and dare I say willpower?) of the Congolese government and the African/international community were lacking to properly eradicate the threat and ensure the safety of the civilian population.

Now, the people of Fizi, particularly the women, are paying the price of this experiment gone awry. Granted, not ALL of the FARDC soldiers currently in bracage have defected and gone on a rape spree, but my hope in the entire process of integrating rebel groups is considerably diminished because of the events of late. The toll that the civilian population paid during Kimya II and Amani Leo (Congolese military operations in 2009-2010) is well-documented; as armed groups, state-sanctioned, rebels, defectors, militia, and all, continue to operate in the Kivus, the war on women’s bodies will continue.

Is there an easy answer? No. The guns are already here, and there are men who already know they can serve their own desires by oppressing the weak and vulnerable. The FDLR still has to be driven out or brought to justice somehow, and that still requires military action and possibly some change in political thinking among Congo’s neighbors. A cold and cynical analysis of the situation might conclude that these blatant and widespread human rights abuses are but “collateral damage” in bringing stability to the Congo after years of open war. However, I am still not convinced that the women of Fizi deserve to suffer in order to achieve “stability”.

More reports on security incidents occurring this month:

June 4: Monitors reported that the FDLR raped 15 women in Makungu

June 11: Former FARDC soldiers loyal to Col. Kifaru (an ex-PARECO commander) have been ravaging the area around the village of Nakiele. According to Arche, there have been 68 documented cases of rape in the area from these soldiers.

To recap what I stated in my previous blog entry, a lot of the integrated FARDC units that used to belong to rebel movements (such as PARECO) are not happy with the whole bracage/mixage process, and thus quite a few have deserted and gone back to running wild in the bush. So, bracage has not been the grand success that everyone had planned.

Due to combat between the FARDC and the FDLR/Mai Mai, there have been more refugee movements in Fizi Territory, such as from the area around Lukungu towards places like Mboko and Swima. At an OCHA meeting in Baraka on Friday, the HCR security liaison gave strict orders to all NGO workers to avoid certain areas of Fizi (particularly between Fizi Centre and Lulimba) and to observe precautions in more secure districts.

In addition, this past week soldiers from Mai Mai Yakutumba stopped a commercial boat on Lake Tanganyika near Talama and demanded $15,000 from the crew and passengers. When the boat could not cough up enough cash, the Mai Mai made the boat go ashore at Talama. There is a lot of lake traffic up and down Tanganyika, since it is a convenient way to get from places like Uvira down to Baraka, Kalemie, Kazimia, or even as far as Zambia. However, it seems that more and more the rebels and militia are figuring out how to go naval, thus further disrupting economic activity in the region.