Child Soldiers in DR Congo
5 years old and a general already! Alexander Haig has got nothing on this kid.
Seriously, I could have put this under the Congo SitReps from Carl but this one deserves its own thread. Child soldiers are a fact of life--and death--in Africa these days.
Quote:
"They are fast. They are brave. They are everything a commander would want. So they are definitely still an asset to the mixed brigades". Who are they?
Child soldiers named by the CAAG acronym to mean Child Associated to Armed Groups. General Baraka, five years old, is a CAAG captured in Lubero territory and transferred to Goma tw days ago. Unicef has been asked to take care of him. He was commander of a mai mai (tribal warrior group) estimated at a brigade ; that's why Baraka' although a child, is officially known as brigadier General Baraka. He is hidden somewhere in Goma for security reason.
And if the 700 Club/Operation Blessing could do it while Stan and I were on the groumd in Goma, I guess the UN peacekeers can too. (And no, I did not make up the names):
Quote:
UN peacekeepers patrolling eastern Congo allegedly traded gold and weapons with the militias they were supposed to help disarm, according to leaked UN reports. An investigation by the BBC World Service, to be broadcast today, alleges that Pakistani peacekeepers based in the mineral-rich area of Mongbwalu bought gold from two rebel commanders nicknamed Dragon and KungFu.
Best
Tom
Lockheed Electras, Diamonds and Eggs
You know Tom, when we would constantly check those tail numbers at N'djili, I had some real doubts that the folks at Clarendon were listening. Who, afterall would believe that 11 or 12 Electras were flying round the clock with a manifest of eggs and milk, returning with (ahem) nothing :cool:
I actually still have those doubts, but no longer care :D
Back in our days, had you reported this general, I'd have ended up with (what was her name) 'Becka' (a new DATT) much sooner.
On a serious note, those camps in Goma were not sitting around waiting for UN food donations, and I recall extremely young children already handling firearms.
The heart of darkness she was and still is !
Regards, Stan
U.N. Evacuates Staff from Congo
Starting to sound very familar, all over again. Even with 18,000 peace keepers, we can't seem to keep a lid on K-town. Doesn't look like we've learned much in the last two decades...leaving military observers unarmed around the former Zäirois :rolleyes:.
Quote:
KINSHASA, Congo -- The U.N. evacuated dozens of staff Wednesday from a remote east Congo town after mobs of stone-throwing protesters angry over the possible return of refugees from a minority ethnic group ransacked U.N. and other humanitarian agencies there, officials said.
The protesters, angry over rumors of the return of ethnic Congolese Tutsis, or Banyamulenge, looted a house used by the U.N. observers and wrecked the offices of the U.N. refugee agency and other aid groups, de Brosses said.
Despite the end of the mineral-rich country's wars in 2002, eastern Congo has remained a lawless and violent place where local militias hold sway far from the distant capital, Kinshasa.
Congo - Des milles collines ?
For Tutsis of Eastern Congo, Protector, Exploiter or Both?
By Stephanie McCrummen
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, August 6, 2007
Quote:
Villagers said that earlier this year Nkunda hoisted a flag and declared his mountain fiefdom a new country:
Land of the Volcanoes.
KICHANGA, Congo -- On the way to the mountain headquarters of renegade Congolese Gen. Laurent Nkunda, there are villages patrolled by Laurent Nkunda's police and checkpoints where Nkunda's soldiers demand that truck drivers pay a tax to support their leader's cause.
Local residents can settle disputes these days in Nkunda's courts or attend church with a priest appointed by Nkunda, who is wanted on war crimes charges but lately has been wearing a button that reads "Rebels for Christ."
Video and more at the link...
Tom, Looks like he forgot his Ray-bans, rappel seat and carabiner. But then, perhaps he's not airborne qualified :wry:
Uganda, DRC Talk Over Interahamwe Threat
From The New Times, Rwanda's First Daily "The presence of Interahamwe militias in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was given much priority during talks between Kampala and Kinshasa early this week."
Strange, they've only been there for the greater part of 2 decades, but then...
Quote:
The development follows an attack in south western Uganda on August 9 by suspected Interahamwe. Three people were killed when machete-wielding armed men speaking a mixture of Kinyarwanda and Kiswahili attacked Butogota Trading Centre, according to government. The assault on Uganda was the third in less than two weeks.
Quote:
The DRC, Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda are members of the Tripartite. "Negative forces is the key thing on the agenda in September," Kiyonga said soon after meeting MPs on the Defence and Internal Affairs Committee at Parliament. But he said their strength "is of a nuisance level" that would not threaten to overrun any establishment in the region. Most of the negative forces including the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (or Interahamwe/ex-FAR) and NALU have been blacklisted by the Fusion Cell in Congo that brings together members of the Tripartite Plus Commission and the United States.
Greater details at the link...
Congo-Kinshasa: New Democracy Must Build on Local Leaders
Free elections in the DRC ? I thought, naw, this must be yet another Congo drill - reel 'em in, eliminate one's opponent's, Commandre, and all of his forces :D
An intriguing article from All Africa, A bit long-winded covering history from the late 1800s, but they do finally get to the point on page two.
Quote:
With conflicts in the Democratic Republic of Congo cooling, and warriors aspiring to become democrats, the country’s new constitution is coming under increased scrutiny.
In a novel development for the DRC – where there is persistent worry that only a strong centre can hold the far-flung state together – power is split between national, provincial and even local institutions, write constitutional experts Olivier Kambala wa Kambala and Coel Kirkby. This is a development that should be welcomed, they say.
The new provinces will become operational in 2009. Each province is electing a provincial assembly, which in turn will elect a governor. The assembly will share power with the national legislature in many civil rights areas and can also draft its laws for a provincial development plan, regulate customary law, raise taxes and more. On paper, the Congolese provinces have similar powers to Nigerian states and South African provinces. This analogy inevitably invokes the dreaded “f”-word, federalism.
Right now the situation is different. First, Congolese citizens have participated in a few free and fair elections. Second, there is time to establish governing and administrative institutions before the new provinces are inaugurated. Last, poorer provinces have a constitutionally-assured share of national revenues. Nevertheless, this ambitious plan will face monumental challenges.
More at the link
Congolese have fled into Uganda
Reuters reports - Ugandan army says 10,000 refugees flee Congo
Quote:
A Ugandan military spokesman said the refugees feared renewed clashes between Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) troops and forces loyal to General Laurent Nkunda after Nkunda organised an anti-U.N. demonstration that turned into a riot.
"Approximately 10,000 people have come from the Congolese side fearing renewed violence ... local district authorities and aid organisations are trying to help them," said Uganda's army spokesman for western Uganda, Lieutenant Tabaro Kiconco.
Kiconco said the refugees told officials in Uganda's Kisoro District that they expected more fighting after villagers, urged on by Nkunda's men, rioted on Tuesday in protest against U.N. troops they said failed to protect them from militias.