Congo-Kinshasa: The Kivus Slide Into 'A General Chaos'

Josh Kron

6 July 2009

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analysis

Nairobi — After the dust settles from the public relations-triumph that was the Rwanda and Congo joint-operations in eastern Congo, the killing there, specifically in South Kivu, has grown more violent, sporadic, and ubiquitous.

Rwanda, which is keeping a close eye on the events unfolding on the other side of the lake, give operations between the Congolese and the United Nations -- which have continued on in Rwanda's absence since they pulled out of the country in late February -- passing, though not perfect, grades.

"It is not our place to comment on their internal affairs," says Rwanda's military spokesperson Major Jill Rutaremara.

"But we are watching what is going on, and we have no reason to believe the Congolese armed forces are not doing their job."

But the death of a three-year old baby girl who was raped along with her three sisters earlier in June highlights what Congo has become.

Another graphic example, would be last week's attempted prison break by a myriad of former combatants holed up in Goma's central prison, an attempt that ultimately failed, but not before 20 female inmates were mass-raped.

Then there was the case in mid-June of mutinous soldiers -- not rebels -- of the Congolese army opening fire on a UN compound in North Kivu after nearly six months of not receiving pay.

Now there are reports from Rwanda's own The New Times -- a bell-weather of government policy -- that former Mai-Mai militia that were supposed to have joined the Congolese army, have instead jump-started an entirely new rebel group.

For a while, the news coming out of that newspaper was highly favourable to both Congolese and Rwandan troops and the groundbreaking co-operation between the two. These days, those opinions are souring.

There is little news of fronts opening or territory being captured, in the traditional sense.

Rather, a routine lawlessness rules the land, where power and greed in its most virulent form is free to reign, most noticeable in the sharp increase of rapes in South Kivu.

"We used to have a classical war here," says UN military spokesperson Jean-Paul Dietrich. "There were large military operations; heavy weaponry."

"Now we have ambushes, night time attacks," said Mr Dietrich. "A general chaos," he added.

It's a general chaos that, despite displacing over 300,000 in North Kivu and 225,000 in South Kivu, aggregate numbers from multiple relief agencies -- has proven far less important to both Rwanda and Congo than the new co-operation between the two countries.

As to whether the humanitarian situation for Congolese civilians in the Kivu provinces is in fact worse than it was before the joint-operations, the United Nations has been nothing but diplomatic, with Mr Dietrich saying, "it's difficult to tell."

Anonymously, a civilian-affairs officer for another UN agency said, "It has a worsened influence for sure," but that the benefit of both countries now working together was "invaluable."

"In North Kivu," he said, "humanitarian agencies have better access than before. But in South Kivu it is still difficult."

Rwanda, the one country that has demonstrated an ability to sharply influence events in the Kivus, has kept silent long enough to beckon calls for its return.

Some, specifically bishops from Kisangani and North Kivu, have called upon Rwanda to return.

They have written to Rwanda's Foreign Ministry, asking for its army to come back to Congo. Some are former Rwandaphiles themselves, others see a simple stability.

One thing that the joint-operations have illuminated -- even more so than when Gen Laurent Nkunda was winning territory daily -- is how poorly the Congolese army has performed since Rwandan troops pulled out. And, maybe, just how badly Rwanda is needed.

Though Kigali's Foreign Ministry stressed that no official communication between the two countries regarding another operation have been discussed, Rwandan President Paul Kagame has said that, if invited, Rwanda would co-operate military again.

Meanwhile, a ghost fades away. The existence of Gen Nkunda, a soaring rebel who once covered front-pages and nearly brought Kinshasa to its knees, has been almost forgotten.

Rwanda hastily denied any sort of relations with the rebel, who has now been in Rwanda's protective custody for over 150 days.

A man who made front page headlines has disappeared off the map.

Rather than being the lethal blow to the FDLR, the joint-operations are remembered most for what happened to Gen Nkunda.