THE CHRONIC MASSACRES OF CONGOLESE

Let us call for two days of activism against the massacres of Congolese in Beni and Ituri under the helpless eye of the Congolese government and the inaction of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in Congo (MONUSCO)”, perhaps we read in this document.

The Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations on mission in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo spoke on Tuesday April 13, 2021 with the bishop of the diocese of Beni-Butembo. In particular, they returned to the precarious security situation in the provinces of North Kivu, mainly in Beni and Ituri province, where atrocities are rife by numerous armed groups, including the rebels of the Allied Democratic Forces.

Khassim Diagne, at the end of his discussions with Monsignor Paluku Sikuli Melchisédech, recalled that the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in Congo (MONUSCO) heard the cry of distress from the population of North Kivu.

Today in Butembo at the MONUSCO base, I had a frank and long discussion with civil society actors and what is called here pressure group representatives. The first in a series of dialogue. I hope to regularly organise to discuss our activities and seek their feedback.

“Our message focused mainly on the situation which prevails more particularly in the territory of Beni, in the vicinity of Butembo with all these massacres which are committed by the armed groups. (…) I heard the cry of desperation from the populations and it is precisely on this basis, that we are going there that we are going to try to see a distribution with a more positive posture in relation to the actions of defense of the population and I am the first to recognize the failure of MONUSCO and it is on this, that we will have to work ”, he declared to the press in Butembo.

The United Nations plans to strengthen its support for the Congolese armed forces to overcome the negative forces that are making the population insecure in eastern Congo. This is what Khassim Diagne, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations in the DRC, said during a visit on Monday, April 12 to Butembo, a city that has been vibrating for a week to the rhythm of demonstrations aimed at demanding the departure of MONUSCO, accused of passivity in the face of the upsurge in massacres in the Beni region.

“We are not at all discouraged, we are not against demonstrations, we are not against social demands, as long as they are expressed in peace, in serenity, in dialogue. But we are against violence, we are against acts aimed at destroying public property. We encourage dialogue. These are situations on which we must discuss. We are open to dialogue with the whole of civil society, those who are with us and those who are against us. I believe that it is through dialogue that we can resolve a lot of the issues that we are going through here, ”said Khassim Diagne.

He revealed that the authorities of Monusco as well as those of the DRC are developing plans of operations to facilitate the tracking of armed groups. To do this, he announced the arrival of special forces to support the UN intervention brigade which is fighting alongside the Congolese forces.

“We have heard the cries of desperation, and we are working on it, and we will do everything alongside the security forces, to overcome this threat. We are here at the invitation of the Congolese government. It was the Congo that asked the international community to come and support it in its efforts to fight armed groups. So Monusco is there behind the Congo. We are working with them (Congolese officials), day and night to develop our plans of operations which will be a little more robust than what we have seen so far.  These are operations that take time. We understand the impatience, we understand the concern of the populations, but I was able to assure you that at the highest level of the State, at the civilian level and at the military level.

Khassim Diagne warned, however, that the solution is not just military.

“The answer is not just military. There are all aspects of the economic side, the social side. We are going to mobilise our partners in this direction, to also think about how to encourage more activities in these fields ”, he affirmed.

Faced with the anti-MONUSCO demonstrations which have been intensifying in the towns of Butembo, Beni and Goma for more than a week, the bishop of the diocese of Butembo-Beni called on the inhabitants “not to respond to evil with evil” .

“If there is an evil, we must not respond to evil with evil. We repeat it every day. We were created in the image and likeness of God. He created us so that we can live in peace, ”added Paluku Sikuli Melchisédech, bishop of Butembo-Beni.

A day earlier, the representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations, Khassim Diagne, said that the UN mission is in the DRC at the invitation of the Congolese government and that it currently has a “robust” plan of operation with the Arrival in progress, new special units to support the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) in tracking down armed groups including the rebels of Allied Democratic Forces (ADF).

Massacres of Congolese

Three people died in a new attack suspected to have been carried out by the rebels of Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) in the entity of Malibo, which is located near Mamove, in the territory of Beni in North Kivu,on Wednesday, April 14 2021, after the one which claimed the lives of 33 people last March in Manyama.

The administrator of the territory of Beni, Donat Kibwana, indicated that the victims had come came from the market in Manyama-Beu towards the commune of Oïcha.

“The provisional toll recorded following this rebel attack shows 3 dead. I also confirm the disappearance of several civilians, ”he said.

For its part, civil society in the Beni-Mbau area, said the attack took place near a base of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in Congo (MONUSCO).

“The attack took place near the MONUSCO base, it is towards Mamove. On the spot three civilians died including the Kizito couple, inhabitants of Oïcha and a woman. Apart from that, a car was set on fire, two other people were injured and around 8 were taken hostage by the attackers, ”said Kakule Nzingene, local civil society rapporteur.

The security situation in Beni is struggling to recover despite military operations launched since October 2019. At least 100 people were killed in March alone, according to citizen organisations and local NGOs.

A car was set on fire during an ambush attributed to fighters of Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), which occurred this Wednesday, April 14 in Malibo, a village located on the Oicha-Mamove axis, in the territory of Beni (North Kivu) . Several people are missing.

The incident took place at 2 p.m. local time. According to civil society in Mamove, the burnt civilian vehicle belonged to a human rights activist, “Kizito Mutumishi” who was returning from Manyama-beu en d’oicha.

The exact number of people on board is not known, explains Kinos Katuho, president of civil society in Mamove, who also indicates that another person who was on a motorcycle was shot and wounded during the ambush.

ADF militias double-ambushed users of the Beni-Kasindi highway on Friday, April 9. The provisional toll shows 8 dead, 1 injured and two vehicles set on fire by the attackers.

According to Kambale Bashimbe, president of the Congo Drivers Association ACCO, reported that the first ambush took place in the morning hours at Kilya. Here, a civilian was killed. And the second, he continues, occurred near the Semuliki River where the ADF killed 7 other civilians including 5 passengers and 2 drivers before burning the two vehicles.

This double ambush comes a few weeks after the one set by the same rebels on March 24 to two vehicles at Kilya, which cost the lives of 4 civilians.

The men assimilated to the alleged Ugandan rebels of ADF carried out an ambush on Wednesday, March 24, to users of national road number 4, Beni-Kasindi axis, near Kapalata near the town of Kilya in the Rwenzori sector. in Beni territory.

This was also confirmed by the president of the new civil society in the Rwenzori sector, Meleki Mulala, reported 3 civilians killed, including two women and a man, but also one injured and a vehicle set on fire.

According to the same source, the injured victim was rushed to a health facility in Kilya, to be taken care of by MONUSCO. However, this source deplores the resurgence of cases of ambushes on this road axis.

Faced with the repeated massacres in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the citizen movements Fight for Change (LUCHA), Filimbi and the socio-cultural association Kyaghanda call on the entire population of Kindu to 2 days of demonstrations to denounce this cycle of violence that persists.

In a joint statement signed on Tuesday, April 13, 2021, these citizen movements denounce “the incompetence of the state and the inaction of the UN forces” present in the area.

“Let us call for two days of activism against the massacres of Congolese in Beni under the helpless eye of the Congolese government and the inaction of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in Congo (MONUSCO)”, perhaps we read in this document.

This Thursday, April 14, they plan to organize a peaceful march through the main arteries of the town of Kindu where images of victims of insecurity in Beni will be exhibited.

It should be recalled that the massacres of civilians continue in several provinces of eastern DRC, despite the efforts of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) and the UN Forces.

Several anti-MONUSCO demonstrations have been organized for a week in several towns in North Kivu, particularly in Goma.

National deputy Kizerbo Watevwa protests against the violent repression of anti-Monusco protests in the various towns of North Kivu province.

In a message, this elected representative from Beni said that he observed a total neglect of the population by the Congolese state.

“The ADF killed the population, the police and the army supposed to protect us seem to take the place of the ADF in town,” he said.

While criticizing the behaviour of certain elements of the order during the dispersal of anti-Monusco demonstrations, this parliamentarian condemns the killing on Friday evening in Beni of a woman by an element of the FARDC.

“This woman who was shot dead by an FARDC soldier might have been afraid of going to the Beni-Kasindi, Beni-Oïcha and other roads one day, but the bullet hit her in the market and her baby injured. It is the rifle that we Congolese bought through our taxes to hunt down the enemy that takes our lives. The people of Beni were at the first alternation front which led many to power, this is not the way to say thank you, ”he regretted.

Within three days, three civilians have just been killed by either police or FARDC elements in Beni, Kasindi and Butembo in anti-Monusco protests in both towns.

Socio-economic activities have resumed timidly since Wednesday, April 14, 2021 in Buhene, Turunga and Kihisi, in the suburbs north of Goma in the Nyiragongo territory after three days of violence which left around ten dead. While some families are preparing to bury their fallen during clashes between young people. Some residents who have fled the area are starting to return to their homes.

“Vehicles and motorcycles are starting to pass on the road, which was not the case for the last 48 hours. Some residents who fled the village are starting to return. A few boutiques and stores are already opening. If the situation evolves like that, we hope that all will be well ”, said Adolphe Shukuru, president of the civil society, core of the Munigi group.

Both administrative and military authorities reassured the population about the restoration of security in the agglomerations affected by the violence.

“Life is gradually resuming in Munigi and the surrounding area. Activities resume timidly. We are currently in Kibumba to bury the first remains. However, we call on the population to be calm. Young people must refrain from acts of violence and denounce string pullers, ”said Édouard Bahati, administrator of the Nyiragongo territory.

Sources from civil society in North Kivu inform that during the violence recorded in the territory of Nyiragongo, some armed men infiltrated the city of Goma. The firepower the armed group was using seemed professional and they seemed to be on a mission.

“The army reassures the population that it has already taken all measures to block the road to anyone who tries to disturb the peace. If there are militiamen who think this is an opportunity to venture on our population, rest assured, the army has already taken precautions and therefore, if they dare, they will suffer the power of fire. of the FARDC. We therefore call on the population to remain calm, ”said Major Njike Kaiko Guillaume, spokesperson for the 34th military region.

At least three people including a FARDC soldier were killed during the exchange of fire on Tuesday between a group of armed men and the FARDC in Munigi, not far from the Bukumu chiefdom office, local civil society announced. This toll adds to 7 other people killed during the violence last Sunday and Monday.

The Honorary President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Joseph Kabila Kabange received this Wednesday, April 14, 2021, the special representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Bintou Keita, at his residence of Kashamata, in the city of Lubumbashi (Haut-Katanga).

According to Barnabé Kikaya, a member of the Front Commun pour le Congo (FCC) who took part in the meeting between Joseph Kabila and Bintou Keita, the discussions revolved around “security fundamentals” with in particular the advent of many armed groups in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

“Talking about politics, making the history of MONUC to MONUSCO, returning to security fundamentals in the DRC, two hours of discussions between Madame Bintou Keita, RSG-ONU and Joseph Kabila, honorary president of the DRC in Kashamata”.

The same source also reveals that the conversation between the two personalities was courteous.

As a reminder, the head of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in Congo (MONUSCO), Bintou Keita, has been staying in the city of Lubumbashi since Tuesday, April 13, 2021. Upon her arrival, she met the governor of Haut-Katanga, Jacques Kyabula Katwe, and the president of Ensemble pour le République, Moïse Katumbi Chapwe.

Joram Jojo