Kivu conflict

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Kivu conflict
The Kivu region
Date 2004–present Location Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo Status Peace deal signed, but fighting continues
Belligerents
Nkunda's tutsi CNDP rebels	Democratic Republic of Congo Hutu FDLR rebels
Commanders
Laurent Nkunda	Army elements of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Strength
6,000-8,000[1]	20,000[1]

The Kivu conflict is an armed conflict between the military of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and rebel forces under the command of Laurent Nkunda.

Contents 1 Background 2 Timeline 2.1 2004 Bukavu offensive 2.2 2005 clashes with DRC army 2.3 2006 2.4 2007 2.5 2008: peace deal 3 See also 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Background

Main article: Second Congo War

Laurent Nkunda was an officer in the rebel Rally for Congolese Democracy (RCD), Goma faction, in the Second Congo War (1998-2002). In 2003, with the official end of the war, Nkunda joined the new integrated national army of the transitional government as a colonel and was promoted to general in 2004. He soon rejected the authority of the government and retreated with some of RCD-Goma troops to the Masisi forests in Nord Kivu.^[2]

[edit] Timeline

[edit] 2004 Bukavu offensive

Later in 2004, Nkunda's forces began clashing with the DRC army in Sud-Kivu and by May 2004, occupied Bukavu where he was accused of committing war crimes.^[3] Nkunda claimed he was attempting to prevent genocide against the Banyamulenge, who are ethnic Tutsis resident in the eastern DRC,^[4] a claim rejected by the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC),^[5] and denied the claim that he was following orders from Rwanda. Following UN negotiations which secured the withdrawal of Nkunda's troops from Bukavu back to the Masisi forests, part of his army split, and led by Colonel Jules Mutebusi left for Rwanda.^[3] About 150,000 Kinyarwanda-speaking people (Nkunda's own language) were reported to have fled from Sud-Kivu to Nord-Kivu in fear of reprisal attacks by DRC army.^[6]

[edit] 2005 clashes with DRC army

In 2005, Nkunda called for the overthrow of the government due to its corruption and increasing numbers of RCD-Goma soldiers deserted the DRC army to join his forces.^[7]

[edit] 2006

In January 2006, his troops clashed with DRC army forces, also accused of war crimes by the MONUC.^[8] Further clashes took place during August 2006 around the town of Sake.^[9] MONUC, however, refused to arrest Nkunda after an international arrest warrant was issued against him, stating that: "Mr Laurent Nkunda does not present a threat to the local population, thus we cannot justify any action against him." ^[10] As late as June 2006, Nkunda became subject to United Nations Security Council restrictions.^[11]

During both the first and second rounds of the contested and violent 2006 general election, Nkunda had said that he will respect the results.^{[12] [13][14]} On November 25, however, nearly a day before the Supreme Court ruled that Joseph Kabila had won the presidential election's second round, Nkunda's forces undertook a sizable offensive in Sake against the DRC army 11th Brigade,^[15] also clashing with MONUC peacekeepers.^[16] The attack may not have been related to the election but due to the "killing of a Tutsi civilian who was close to one of the commanders in this group." The UN has called on the DRC government to negotiate with Nkunda and DRC Interior Minister, General Denis Kalume, was sent to eastern DRC to begin negotiations.^[17]

On 2006-12-07, RCD-Goma troops attacked DRC army positions in Nord Kivu. With military assistance from MONUC, the DRC army was reported to have regained their positions, with about 150 RCD-Goma forces having been killed. Approximately 12,000 Congolese civilians have fled the DRC to Kisoro District, Uganda.^[18] Also on that day, a rocket fired from the DRC to the Kisoro District killed seven people.^[19]

[edit] 2007

In early 2007, the central DRC government attempted to reduce the threat posed by Nkunda by trying to integrate his troops further into the FARDC, the national armed forces, in what was called a 'mixage' process.^[20] However, this backfired and it now appears that from about January to August Nkunda controlled five brigades of troops rather than two (see FARDC#Land Forces).

On 24 July 2007, the UN peacekeeping head Jean-Marie Guehenno stated, "Mr Nkunda's forces are the single most serious threat to stability in the DR Congo."^[21]

By late August 2007, the increased instability in North Kivu, largely attributed to fighting between forces under Nkunda and Hutu militias, has displaced more than 160,000. United Nations agencies predicted that further fighting would displace another 280,000 over the next six months. During negotiations between Nkunda and the government to integrate his force into the army, several army units were placed under his command. These units continued to obey his orders after negotiations fell through. The BBC reported that Nkunda was receiving support from the government of Rwanda.^[22]

In late August, Nkunda pulled his men, numbering in the thousands, out of the joint Nkunda/FARDC 'mixage' brigades and began attacking government troops whom he accused of aiding Hutu forces attacking the hundreds of thousands of Tutsis who live in the Kivu region. It is reported, however, that the UN peacekeeping force supports the DRC government's claim that Nkunda is a "bandit".^[23]

In early September, Nkunda's forces had a smaller DRC force under siege in Masisi, and MONUC helicopters were ferrying government soldiers to relieve the town. Scores of men were reported killed, and another major conflict was in prospect.^[23] On 5 September 2007, after the government FARDC forces claimed they had used an Mi-24 helicopter gunship to kill 80 of Nkunda's rebels, Nkunda called on the government to return to a peace process. "It's the government side who have broken the peace process," he said. "We are asking the government to get back on the peace process, because it is the real way to resolve the Congolese problem." ^[24]

In September, Nkunda's men "raided ten secondary schools and four primary schools where they took the children by force in order to make them join their ranks". According to United Nations officials, girls are taken as sex slaves, boys are used as fighters, in violation of international law.^[25] Following the date of the UN report, thousands more Congolese fled their homes for displaced persons camps.^[26]

The government set a 15 October 2007 deadline for Nkunda's troops to begin disarming. This deadline passed without action and, on 17 October, President Joseph Kabila ordered the military to prepare to disarm Nkunda's forces forcibly. Government forces advanced on the Nkunda stronghold of Kichanga. Thousands of civilians fleeing the fighting between Nkunda and government-allied Mai-Mai around Bunagana arrived in Rutshuru several days later. There were separate reports of government troops engaging units under Nkunda around Bukima, near Bunagana, as well as some refugees fleeing across the border into Uganda. The number of people displaced by the fighting since the beginning of the year was estimated at over 370,000.^[27]

In early November 2007, Nkunda's troops captured the town of Nyanzale, about 100 kilometres (62 mi) north of Goma. Three neighboring villages were also reported captured, and the army outpost abandoned.^[28] A government offensive in early December resulted in the capture by the 82nd Brigade of the town of Mushake, overlooking a key road. (However, Reuters reports a FARDC integrated brigade, the 14th, took the town.^[29]) This followed a statement by the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo that it would be willing to offer artillery support to the government offensive. In a regional conference held in Addis Ababa, the United States, Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda pledged to support the Congolese government and not support "negative forces", widely seen as code for Nkunda's forces.^[30]

Nkunda stated on December 14, 2007 that he was open to peace talks.^[31] The government called such talks on December 20 to be held from December 27, 2007 to January 5, 2008.^[32] These talks were then postponed to be held from January 6 to January 14, 2008.^[33]

[edit] 2008: peace deal

Nkunda's group did attend the talks, but walked out on January 10, 2008, after an alleged attempted arrest of one of their members.^[34] They later returned to the talks.^[35]

The talks' schedule was extended to last until 21 January 2008,^[36] and then to 22 January 2008 as an agreement appeared to be within reach.^[37] It was further extended to 23 January 2008 over final disagreements regarding war crimes cases.^[38] The peace deal was signed on 23 January 2008 and included provisions for an immediate ceasefire, the phased withdrawal of all rebel forces in North Kivu province, the resettlement of thousands of villagers, and immunity for Nkunda's forces.^[39]

Neither the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda nor the Rwandan government took part in the talks, a fact which may hurt the stability of the agreement.^[40][41]

As of May 2008, the peace deal has lessened, but not halted fighting between FARDC and FDLR forces, and there continue to be reports of civilian atrocities.^[42]

[edit] See also

• Ituri conflict
• List of wars 2003-current

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Renewed Crisis in North Kivu (HRW)