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.

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

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.

I really wish all the news I had from this part of the world wasn’t depressing, but unfortunately that’s the way things seem to be going at the moment.

I had a talk with an OCHA official recently about the increased violence against civilians we’ve been seeing since the beginning of the year. This particular OCHA official saw it as being directly tied to the braçage and reorganization operations that have drained crucial areas of South Kivu of FARDC troops. The OCHA official pointed out that in the area of Kilembwe, there has been a significant increase in reported human rights abuses committed by the FDLR since the FARDC units stationed there went into braçage.

According to OCHA and to Jason Stearns over at Congo Siasa, the reintegration of groups such as the FRF and PARECO is not going so smoothly anyway, with some rebel leaders and soldiers deserting the process to go back to acting outside of state authority.

On June 9, Arche d’Alliance monitors reported that elements of Mai Mai Yakutumba raped around 10 women near Kazimia. You may recall that the FARDC unit stationed in Kazimia pulled out a little less than a month ago; when they were passing through Sebele on their way to Kananda, one of the FARDC soldiers shot and wounded SOS FED reintegration officer M’Munga Selemane. So, with zero FARDC presence in Kazimia, human rights violations committed by the FDLR and Mai Mai are increasing. MSF-Holland is expected to try and reach Kazimia next Wednesday to treat the victims of this latest attack.

You will recall an incident previously reported in my blog from May 10 in the village of Matale, where 5 women were raped by unidentified armed men. According to OCHA, the aggressors remain unidentified, and no action has been taken by MONUSCO or the Congolese state.

Thus, the continuing Catch-22 of the conflict in eastern Congo: the FARDC commits human rights abuses against the civilian population when it is present, and when it is not the Mai Mai and FDLR pick right up, with perhaps further intensity. The real test will be whether the state armed groups can be reformed to the point where they stop their depredations of the Congolese population (particularly women) and perform their job of maintaining peace and security.

Greetings from Kampala. I’m taking a two-week holiday in Uganda, but I’m keeping in contact with the SOS FED staff back in Uvira and I might post a few more blogs. In the meanwhile, here’s a mini-update on SOS FED activities and the security situation in Uvira/Fizi Territory:

-On May 9 & 10, SOS FED staff members participated in a very successful training conducted by Arche d’Alliance in Baraka. The training was an introduction to human rights, monitoring/reporting on violations of human rights, how the Congolese penal code addresses sexual violence, and some basics of the Congolese civil code. Our staff will be able to impart the knowledge from their training to the beneficiaries, who can return to their communities as effective human rights advocates. In addition, this training will help improve the data-collection skills of our staff and integrate them into the larger human rights monitoring network in Fizi Territory.

SOS FED staff at human rights training in Baraka.  From l-r: Bawili Ningejua, Mariamu Bashishibe, Lubunga Wilonja, Luanja Eca Ricardo, M’Munga Selemani, Sangho Laliya, Chamulungo Nabisha, and Mimmy El Vital

-Beginning in mid-May, two FARDC regiments were re-deployed in Uvira and Fizi Territory. In January/February, a lot of the Amani Leo brigade units had been called in to bases in Lubarika (Uvira) and Kananda (Fizi) for re-organization, re-equipment, and training. The goal of this massive maneuver was to improve the efficiency of the FARDC troops and give them training on respecting human rights and obeying the law. This training process (known as braçage), was performed by the Congolese government with assistance from governments in Europe and the US government. However, when the FARDC troops withdrew from their positions earlier this year, FDLR and Mai Mai elements moved in to control the areas left vacant by the FARDC. Now, the FARDC will be fighting to re-take their positions, so MONUSCO officials have warned me about a possible stark increase in violence throughout portions of Uvira and Fizi Territories. Personally, I am waiting to be convinced that the braçage was effective in improving the behavior of FARDC troops. However, one hopes the re-deployment makes a dent in the FDLR and ultimately reduces the amount of conflict in the region.

-M’Munga Selemani, the SOS FED reintegration officer who was wounded by (now confirmed) FARDC gunfire, is recovering at a hospital in Uvira. Fortunately, his wounds were not life threatening; the bullet grazed him just above his right eye. The women that Mr. Selemani was escorting to Kikonde were unharmed in the incident. Currently, we are working with Arche d’Alliance and MONUSCO Human Rights to see that justice is served.

Stay tuned for more.

Attacks on civilians may be picking up again in this part of South Kivu. There have been 3 major events since the beginning of the month:

-On May 10, around midnight, a group of armed men attacked the village of Matale, in the Moyen Plateau of Uvira Territory. The group of armed men locked all the men into one house and all the women into another house, and then proceeded to loot the town. After looting, the armed men picked out five women and raped them. The identity of these armed men is unknown, although it is strongly suspected that they are FARDC, since there is a contingent of FARDC moving through that area of the Moyen Plateau at the moment. The next day, the female survivors of the attack made their way to the Centre de Santé (Health Center) in Ndagereka. Arche d’Alliance sent a monitor up to Matale to do a preliminary investigation, but he was held up by bandits on his way back. Fortunately, he was not hurt, but Arche is not sending anyone else to Matale until they are sure of the security situation. No word on whether MONUSCO will be opening up an investigation or not.

-On May 12, a group of 13 people leaving the market in Nemba, Fizi Territory, were ambushed by a group of 34 FDLR. The ambushed civilians were relieved of their belongings and money, and then were tortured and mutilated to various degrees. The details of the mutilations and tortures as provided by initial reports are fairly gruesome, and I won’t be reporting them here until I am more sure of the details.

-On April 30, an FDLR unit attacked the village of Kikonde (yes, where SOS FED has a center), Fizi Territory. Seven shops were robbed and one merchant was wounded by gunfire. The FDLR has a jungle base near Ngandja, and their forays into Kikonde were made easier by the fact that there is no longer a FARDC unit stationed there; the Amani Leo unit that was in Kikonde left in February for reorganization and training. Ironically, despite the fact that the Amani Leo brigades are still greatly resented by the civilian population, their presence could have prevented such an attack. The Amani Leo brigades are still in braçage closer to the bigger towns of Fizi, and rumor has it they are not too keen on heading back into the bush to fight the FDLR.

The good news is that the SOS FED center in Kikonde was not affected by the attack; the SOS FED staff and beneficiaries in Kikonde are safe and sound. However, this attack and the robbery of the Arche monitor in Matale are brutal reminders of the dangers facing the civilian population of South Kivu, and in particular the high-risk environment for defenders of human rights.

SOS FED beneficiary in a manioc field near Mboko

SOS FED beneficiary in a manioc field near Mboko

There is evidence of a growing humanitarian crisis in Fizi Territory. I have been attending regular OCHA security briefings to keep updated on the situation in Uvira and Fizi. Now, I will share some of what I have been hearing. We start in the Ubwari Peninsula, down in Fizi Territory.

The Ubwari Peninsula juts into Lake Tanganyika, south of Baraka and just north of Kazimia. In the month of March, battles continued between Amani Leo troops and Mai Mai Yakutumba on the Ubwari. Thus, accessibility to the villages in the Ubwari has been limited for humanitarian agents, and there is very little information on refugee movements and civilian casualties coming from the area. Fighting near Kazimia has resulted in at least 1 reported civilian casualty. Last year SOS FED closed the reception center in Kazimia, which was the right decision, given the current proximity of combat.

There are concerns about the lack of protection in the area around Kilembwe, in the Haut Plateau, where the FLDR is targeting the civilian population. Many of the mass rapes committed by the FDLR this year happened in the vicinity of Kilembwe and Kilimba. Supposedly there are plans for a larger Amani Leo operation to head into the Kilembwe area to drive out the FDLR. Right now, MONUSCO patrols only reach Kilicha. On March 14, more than 40 civilians were robbed by the FDLR on their way to the market in Kilicha.
The Mai Mai is waylaying and robbing travelers on the road from Uvira to Baraka, near the villages of Elila and Kabondozi. On March 16, a vehicle belonging to the NGO TEARFUND was ambushed and robbed near Mukindje, about 15 km from Baraka. In these incidents, there were no reported injuries.

In March, more FNL activity has been reported, throwing in another wrench in the machine. The FNL (Forces Nationales pour la Libération) is a Burundian rebel movement that is opposed to the current government in Burundi. In Uvira Territory, combat between the FNL and the FARDC on March 12 disrupted agricultural activity near Kiliba; when farmers hear that there is fighting close by, they become reluctant to go to their fields. In Fizi, as of March 15 it was reported that over 200 FNL troops were camped out in the forest of Lulambo, near the village of Kabembwe.

Now, we return to Uvira Territory, for a demonstration of just how difficult it is to negotiate the security situation in South Kivu. Due to increased incidents of armed bandits waylaying travelers in the Runingu area, the Pakistani Battalion of MONUSCO (PAKBATT) stationed in Uvira Territory attempted to create a Temporary Operations Base (TOB) in Kashatu. However, they soon abandoned their plans, due to a lack of support from the local authorities. Apparently, the local authorities wanted more and more money from MONUSCO for “permission” to put a TOB there, even though this would have increased security for the civilian population. Again, another demonstration of just how difficult it is, even for the UN, to stabilize the security situation in a region rife with corruption.

In February, Médecins Sans Frontières released a briefing on the “dramatic increase in mass rape and violence” in Fizi Territory. There are worries that the conflict in Fizi is entering into a “new phase of brutality”. In recent years, MSF saw a decline in reported incidents of sexual violence in Fizi; however, this trend is starting to reverse itself. The situation of women in Fizi, which has never been good, is getting worse.

On March 13, I wrote an entry about the cases of mass rape that have been rising since the beginning of the year. Please refer to that entry for a more complete picture of this “new phase of brutality”. Stay tuned for more.

South Kivu is home to quite a few ethnic groups, and with any area with fragmented identities, there are low-level tensions between these groups.  In Uvira and Fizi, there are many different tribal/linguistic groups, such as the Bafulero, Babembe, Bavira, Banyamulenge, Bashi.  Here is a little guide to the prefixes:

One person: Mufulero

Many people: Bafulero

Language: Kifulero

For example:  Josephine is a Mubembe.  She belongs to the Babembe people, and she speaks Kibembe.  There are a couple of exceptions to these grammatical rules; for example, the Banyamulenge speak Kinyarwanda, as their ethnic group came to the Kivus from Rwanda a few hundred years ago.  People from Rwanda are called Banyarwanda, people from Burundi are called Barundi (or, more commonly, burundais) and speak Kirundi.  In the Kivus, most everybody knows Kiswahili, as is the case in Rwanda, Burundi, Kenya, and Tanzania.  Kiswahili has become the lingua franca in areas where people from many different ethnic groups are found, such as Uvira town.  In addition, most people know at least a little bit of the language of other ethnic groups.  Despite slight regional differences in vocabulary, one can get most anywhere in East Africa if one speaks Kiswahili.

One has to be extremely careful when talking about ethnicity, especially when it comes to the various armed groups.  Ethnic issues oftentimes are connected to political and military actions, but no armed group’s motivations can be explained entirely along ethnic guidelines.  Looking for a political motive is more worthwhile.

When the Rwandans invaded the Congo and continued to have a presence in the Kivus, part of their explanation for their invasion was to prevent the “genocide” of their “Tutsi” brothers, the Banyamulenge.  Simmering ethnic tensions already existing between the Banyamulenge and the “autochtone” tribes (Babembe, Bafulero) were one of the reasons why South Kivu was invaded, catalyzed by the genocide of Tutsis in Rwanda and by the fact many of the perpetrators fled into the Congo and were regrouping there.  Depending on whom you talk to here, you will always get a different response as to who is the truly “victimized” ethnic group in South Kivu.  While political and rebel movements may be along “tribal” lines (the FDLR, for example, is a “Hutu” nationalist group), ethnicity may be simply be an excuse to further a selfish agenda. Politicians and military leaders exploit these differences; in South Kivu, the Banyamulenge can be portrayed either as bloodthirsty killers of the “native” tribes or as victims of “genocidal Congolese” and their “Hutu genocidaire allies”.  Neither portrayal is correct. Members of one ethnic group may be quick to recall the massacres of their tribesmen at the hands of another tribe, but won’t be able to recall the massacres committed by their own ethnic group against others; I’ve heard this quite a bit from Bembe people in Fizi Territory, who are quick to point out sites where Babembe were massacred by the predominately Banyamulenge RCD, but would be hard pressed to recount the anti-Banyamulenge pogroms/massacres that have also occurred in the area, before and after the RCD takeover.

Of course, this is not to say that ethnicity/tribal affiliation is something to ignore; one only has to look at the 1994 genocide in Rwanda to see the perils of ignoring ethnic tensions and how they can be exploited for murderous intent.  Ethnic divides can ignite hatred and suspicion, since it is that much easier to hate the “other” who doesn’t speak your language, looks a little differently than you, and practices customs slightly different from yours.

The FARDC in South Kivu consist of many Banyamulenge, including quite of the officers.  The Mai Mai are comprised of members mostly from the “autochtone” tribes, the Babembe, Bafulero, etc.  The fact that the conflict is delineated along ethnic lines is one reason why the Amani Leo troops are implicated in so many rapes in Fizi Territory; there is a lower mental/cultural threshold to cross for a Banyamulenge soldier to rape/assault someone of the “other” ethnic group, especially for someone they see as the “enemy”.  Same thing goes for the FDLR rebels and their general attitude towards the Congolese population.  The Banyamulenge are not inherently evil, and not all members of their ethnic group can be labeled as rapists and murderers, despite what some members of some other ethnic groups may tell you.  It is easy to see how the situation could be reversed if the FARDC ranks were mostly commanded and made up of members of another ethnic group.

This is not to say that all sexual or gender-based violence goes perpendicular to ethnic lines.  The second-class status of women in a patriarchal society make Congolese women all the more vulnerable to the designs of all predators, be they a soldier from a different region, their next-door neighbor, or even a member of their own family.  Taboos on denouncing perpetrators and the lack of a functioning law enforcement/justice system make the situation all the more difficult to gauge and ameliorate.

When I write about the Congo, I mostly try to avoid attaching ethnic labels to political/armed groups, except when necessary to possibly explain the reasons around a group’s actions/platform.  The point is that ethnic/tribal divides often exacerbate conflicts over land, mineral mines, or even cows.  Ignoring them only perpetuates ignorance, but simply attributing all the violence to “ethnic conflict” misses the point.  The war has political, economic, and military implications that extend beyond the region and even beyond the continent.

In the States, I’ve had to endure listening to many an American talking about “crazy uncivilized Africans” killing each other because of “tribal animosity” that existed “long before we [white people] got there”.  I greatly resent this sort of sentiment, mostly because of colonial legacy (remember, it was Europeans who created the whole “Hutu” and “Tutsi” false dichotomy) and the modern problems of Africa that have more to do with economics and politics than tribal affiliation.  Oftentimes these modern problems involve the actions of governments, corporations, and individuals outside of Africa.  I’d say that our culpability as Non-Africans is pretty well established.

It should be noted that the grand majority of Congolese people I know are fairly chilled out when it comes to ethnic differences; people from all different tribes and ethnic groups interact with each other everyday in the Congo without incident.

Many civil society organizations in Eastern Congo work to try and break down these ethnic barriers, reminding everyone that they are Congolese citizens first and foremost, and tribal differences should not be an excuse for violence, mistrust, and marginalization.  SOS FED makes no distinction between beneficiaries in terms of language or tribe, and all are welcome.