Officers from the UN, Rwandan and Congolese Joint Verification Mission
tour a part of the Rwandan border on June 12, 2014 after the armies of
the two countries clashed. FILE PHOTO | AFP
The geopolitical situations in the Great Lakes region, currently
characterised by damaged relations between neighbouring countries and a
political impasse inside the Democratic Republic of Congo could plunge
the region into another conflict.
Last week, at least
72 people were killed in renewed fighting between ethnic groups in
eastern Congo, days after clashes between the armies of DRC and Rwanda
on their common border.
Radio Okapi, owned and run by
the UN Observer Mission in DRC, Monusco, reported that the ethnic
clashes in Rutshuru in North Kivu, where at least 23 people died, pitted
Congolese tribes of the Hunde and Nande on one side and groups of Hutus
of Rwandan origin, mainly members of the Democratic Forces for the
Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).
FDLR rebels have operated
in eastern DRC for 23 years, with majority of the senior members accused
of taking part in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsis. The rebels
often clash with Congolese ethnic groups who want them out of Congo.
North
Kivu Governor Julien Paluku, said; “We are still ascertaining the
number of people killed but so far 23 people, including the members of
the militia, have been confirmed dead. Calm has been restored since
Wednesday.”
According to international Catholic
charity Caritas, another 49 people were killed in fresh in ethnic
clashes between the Lendu and Hema in Ituri.
The violence in the eastern Ituri region has left over 100 people dead since mid-December.
Border security
Meanwhile,
reports indicate that Rwanda has beefed up security at its border
following clashes between the Rwandan army and DRC forces, that killed
at least five Congolese soldiers. Both countries accused the other of
aggression.
A source told The EastAfrican
that Rwanda Defence Force has been on the alert since the incident which
is currently being investigated by the Extended Joint Verification
Mechanism (EJVM) of the International Conference for the Great Lakes
Region (ICGLR).
“There is a lot of activity inside DRC,
the situation is very fluid, with many groups reported to be
assembling,” the source told The EastAfrican.
Political
observers fear that the current damaged relations between Rwanda and
Uganda could play out in DRC, reminiscent of the early 2000’s when their
armies clashed inside DRC, in one of the worst conflicts in the Great
Lakes Region.
Kigali accuses Uganda of supporting the
Rwanda National Congress (RNC), made up of former allies of President
Kagame. Kampala has denied the allegations.
Sources
say that the recent incursion by Uganda inside DRC to destroy cells of
Allied Democratic Forces, a Ugandan rebel group is closely being watched
by Rwanda; and that former members of the defunct M23 group led by
Sultani Makenga could be regrouping inside DRC to stage a rebellion.
With
the tense political situation in DRC as President Joseph Kabila stays
put, political observers say the region is headed towards major
instability, involving Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi.
Kabila
has agreed to a request from UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to
visit his country ahead of elections scheduled for December this year.
Mr
Guterres wrote to Kabila to propose a joint visit with African Union
chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat following a series of meetings he held
on the sidelines of the AU summit in Addis Ababa in late January.
No comments :
Post a Comment