If AFRICOM were to get some funding for a solution, what would it look like, in the eastern Congo at least?
One of the reasons I regret leaving Congo in March, is that I won't be on the spot to see how all this is going to work out. Especially given the attitude of the people I was able to talk to.
They were very optimistic about the process, not about the individuals, but about the political structure, idealistic even. One guy told me, "We'll see how Kabila does. If we don't like it, in 5 years we'll vote him out". I hope it works out that way.
The premise and flaw is in the title of the article.Quote:
Congo-Kinshasa: New Democracy Must Build on Local Leaders
Local leaders are determined by whom? The locals correct? The problem in apllying that to the DRC is that Kinshasa is an abberation in the "Congo" as the locals are a melange. The provinces when it is all said and done remain tribal and tribal alliance-based.
The DRC is not a country and this article just trots out the same old tired phrases to describe but at the sametime camouflage that reality. the authors writing safely from the UK and Canada for AllAfrica are not going to cross the PC line by stating such realities.
Best
Tom
Hey Carl !
As always, Tom's got this one - dead wringer.
I never had this feeling I needed to go back as if I was missing something. Then, after 10 years, I was fairly sick of the joint and it's endless routine.
Don't know if you recall the -ahem- great 1990's opposition leader, Etienne Tshisekedi from Mobutu's days. Basically, a real sour puss around the embassy (when he came out of hiding long enough to hound the Zairian government and ask the Americans for help). He also promised (among other great things) democracy once Mo was gone. "You folks get rid of Mo, and I'll fix this dump"!
You can't run Zaire from K-town without a big stick, and that has never changed.
Even when the Embassy's 'source' (somebody's cook) managed to turn Tom's ground-zero reports ass-backwards, the country was on a downward spiral and most had completely disregarded events in Goma, which would ultimately collapse the country.
15 years later, the fate of the DRC appears to still reside in the east.
Enter Kabila (or better said, Bemba's arch rival). Bemba was my neighbor for years (most impressive having your own .50 nest if front of your main gate).
With his death and his son Joseph now in the hot seat trying to once again run the DRC from K-town, it appears little more than a glimmer of hope, which the naive Congolese thrive on.
Sorry, I believe in Santa, but not democracy in the Congo :cool:
Hey Carl !
I enjoyed your e-mails and I'm thinking along the very same lines (not exactly U.S. SWC strategy, but Sub-Sahara doesn't always play by the rules ...so why should we ?).
Before I start, I'd like to share what a 'retired' SNCO wrote me after crossing back into Uganda on the 'slide' (timeframe intentionally omitted): "Dude ! I really needed your Frog and Lingala today. Nearly a brigade of armed UN soldiers came through - Indians are fun to watch ;) -, moving on foot from street to street and every corner in between protecting something strategic (I have no clue). With nothing better to do, I tried to strike a conversation with one. ####, you should have seen this boy, he was weighed down with belted ammo and some RPG-kinda-lookin-weapon on his shoulder (wished I paid more attention at Bragg's anti-terrorist school instead of drinkin with you Stan !). I greeted him in English out of the blue, and he replied with a facial expression as if he had just been spoken to by a talking goat...Hey Dude ! LOLOLOLQuote:
Originally Posted by carl
I've known this SF NCO for better than 28 years. However, I have no idea what he was there for. He likes this Sierra and keeps inviting me to join a beltway bandit company and, run with him.
That said, Carl, I think some folks are already 'forward in the foxhole'. AFRICOM ? Nope, I think folks like BW are spooling up. If I was intent on bartering for contracts, I'd put my money on eastern Congo too. Just seems to fit together with AFRICOM opening her doors. Even with 800 folks, they can't and won't slip into Goma for a 'look see'.
Your suggestion: A brigade of FARDC (Forces Armées de la Republic Democratic du Congo) under the leadership of an 'A-team'.
I don't like that idea for many reasons because I can't trust the Zairian mentality two inches from my nose.
If we look at what happened after a 10-day course with MONUC (Mission des Nations Unies en République Démocratique du Congo) in July 2005 (a mini Officer Basic Course), one should quickly realize just what happens when the 'Patron' goes home - back to basic survival. MONUC came back in late 2006 only to discover that these "professionally trained soldiers and leaders" were the root of the problem, only smarter and better equipped. One DRC Officer recently promoted to 0-6 used his rank to extort money from local business people in the Ituri district.
We won't win at this rate, and the training is only making them professional thieves.
My answer (and I have some SF buds previously in Zaire who agree). Dump mucho BS on the AP wires of imminent paratroopers into Goma from France, Belgium and the USA. Allow said BS to marinade for a week or so and really send two supported-infantry battalions and flank Goma from the east and west simultaneously destroying everything in their path. There will be no airlift of humanitarian supplies like water or rice (or baby clothes - ask Tom).
Exit Strategy. Dig mass grave, lime to taste, remain on full-boil for one month, destroy all weapons and ammo, take no prisoners and pull plug.
Jungle Rules Apply !
Stan:
I guess what I meant was A-Teams the way I understood them to work in Vietnam, not only training the people but staying with them and leading them in the field.
That is probably not politically feasible, but something along those lines or perhaps like the British officered Arab Legion from the old days is what I was thinking of. The leadership would have to be other than Congolese for the reasons you state.
This all pie in the sky most probably but if you could talk everybody into it, I don't think the force would have to do much fighting. Once the force was trained well, BS on the AP would get the rapists thinking about it, and then one real battle to prove the force was serious might cause everybody else to melt into the bush.
My basic idea is get a force of Congolese privates with trustworthy commisioned and non-commisioned officers who would probably have to be ex-pats.
Carl,
What you are describing happened in 1964-1965. I just don't think anyone has the stomach for it anymore.
The world's solution to this now is the same as it was in 1994-1996 when I wrote report after report warning it was coming. That is to say, make clucking noises over the 94 genocide and say, "never again" looking sternly at the camera until the lights go off. Then ignore it until it comes up again and repeat with variations authorized.
The reality is that if the Congolese (a term used most loosely) do not fix it, it will not be fixed. That is why I liked the RPA--they did something on their own and they stuck with it.
Best
Tom
Tom:
I am going to have to read up on the events of 64-65 since my ignorance is showing.
Could you say the problem in the eastern DRC are large groups of militarized bandits? So the solution wouldn't so much involve a FM 3-24 type counterinsurgency operations as much as punitive expeditions where you would kill a bunch and hopefully frighten the rest into good behavior.
I am asking this because I talked to a Pakistani officer in Kisangani once and he told me how much more sophisticated their operations in Congo were compared to American operations in Vietnam. I remember thinking to myself that if these guys were essentially bandits how sophisticated do you have to be.
Hey Carl !
I'd be more concerned about those that 'melted into the bush', as historically, they often come back for incomprehensable reasons that usually result in trouble. Probably why the former pres Mo put all his enemies in the river. There's no exile, no coming back, no funeral...just fish food.
Even with the large numbers of Indian peacekeepers there, performing basically peace enforcement, they've accomplished little. I also feel those in charge did not assume just how much risk is acceptable risk. It reminds me of what happened to Canadian General Dallaire's UNAMIR with 5,000 troops. They fought off small military excursions and slowed the killings, but it didn't take long to realize he went there literally unarmed for a bout in the bush.
In order to do this job, we'll need good ol' western leadership combined with ruthless professionals like the RPA.
Here's the link to Tom's Dragon Operations: hostage rescues in the Congo, 1964-1965. If the PDF doesn't open (I had to try 3 times) you can just go here (which is actually a little easier on the eyes).
Regards, Stan
I wonder if Bono would partially finance the effort? He could have a concert in a big stadium and everything. Nah, probably not.
I have a copy of Dragon Operations at home but haven't read it yet. I can do that now by computer. That should complete Tom's trilogy, unless there a fourth I don't know about.
I'm thinking AFRICOM will sub-contract !
Tom's long overdue for a 4th. He probably should give up his day job, leaving more time for the Bambie hunts :cool:
A 4th book however may mean a return to WAWA and I ain't going. Previous editions sent Tom to Belgium for historical data. This time however, he can just ask himself how bad the Sierra was.
As always, you and I will provide support, at the FOBs :D
EDIT: What in creation is that in the picture ? Now here's a squirrel with balls !
1. Leavenworth Paper #14 Dragon Operations
2. Shaba II The French and Belgian Intervention in Zaire in 1978
3. Certain Victory the US Army in the Gulf War, Co author with Bob Scales and Terry Johnson
4. Journey Into Darkness Genocide in Rwanda
#5? Who knows?
Do you recall Rex Davis during that effort at Leavenworth? :eek:
But then he said a lot of things...
I do know he was briefly at Leavenworth in mid '91 and involved with the after action wrap up on DS/DS.
No biggie. Interesting Dude -- in the Chinese wish sense. :rolleyes:
Ken, is this by any chance then MAJ Rex Davis who contributed to Urban Combat Operations, chapter 3 ?
Damn, talk about a small world. Our Dave D. wrote chapter 2, Intelligence !
Uh Oh ...Gortex is hangin there :o
a COL, retired in late 91 or early 92.
Uganda's The New Vision reports another influx of 8,000 Congolese refugees escaping the fighting in eastern Congo.
Quote:
The refugee influx started on Friday, as Congolese from villages close to the Ugandan border entered Bunagana in Kisoro district.
The Congolese army deployed three helicopter gunships against Nkunda’s forces and Mai Mai militias, prompting thousands of residents to flee their homes in northeast Goma, AFP reported on Sunday.
Civilians also told AFP that they fled Rwandan Hutu rebels of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).
In August and September, about 30,000 Congolese fled North Kivu to Kisoro to escape skirmishes between the Congolese army and the local population there.
Two Congolese admitted in a hospital in Bunagana with bullet wounds told UNHCR officials that they were caught in the cross-fire as fighting raged around their homes on Saturday morning.
Looks a lot like 1994 only this time the war is on the other side of the border keeping most of the Aid agencies from assisting.
Congo refugee camps threatened by cholera
Quote:
More than 45,000 displaced people now live in five overcrowded camps on the edge of Goma where aid agencies are struggling to maintain minimum hygiene standards.
The medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said it recorded 533 cases of cholera at health centres it supports, in both the camps and Goma, over the past six weeks.
"The main crisis is in the camps around Goma," said Patrick Lavand'homme, head the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Goma.
Some 189 cases were reported between Oct. 24 and 28, mostly in the camps for the displaced, he said.
A senior United Nations official in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) today decried the problem of sexual violence in the war-torn country, saying perpetrators are mostly police, military and militia members but civilians are increasingly involved, and calling for stronger response measures.
Quote:
"This is an extraordinary large problem. It is not just an anecdotal problem but a massive one that demands we all combined try and make sure that essentially not only women who are victims of rape and abuse are treated but that sexual violence must stop," said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's Deputy Special Representative Ross Mountain.
He voiced particular concern about the conflict in North Kivu where since September, about 150,000 people have fled their homes, bringing the total in the province as a whole to about 800,000 displaced persons.
With the continuous tense situation in DRC's troubled eastern region triggering more sexual violence against women, he said that while statistics are hard to come by, "we are dealing literally with hundred of thousands of victims over the last couple of years."
Stan:
on the road from the Bukavu airport to town i used to see the women toting the giant loads on their backs, all bent over and tramping, tramping, tramping. impossibly hard manual labor every day of their lives and to add an almost certain rape on top of it; everytime i saw one of those women my heart broke.
Carl
Hey Carl !
Glad to hear from you...wondered, what's that guy up to in Iraq these days ?
After nearly 10 years there, watching push carts (mostly males) and women with a case of beer on their heads, I had the same thoughts. I don't want to sound cruel herein, but rape in Zaire while I was there was not as horrific as we the West consider such an evil deed.
I recall the CDC folks explaining that a city of 5 million and 35% of the heterosexual community was HIV positive, and Russian roulette would be safer (we had one of those too at the embassy).
IMO, the number of rape victims back then were nearly the same. But, we were supporting Mobutu and his regime...we tended to look the other way so long as we could use Zaire to stage against Angola and the Russians. When Mo fell out of grace (read ran out of useful purpose) we really messed up his days of fortune and favors. :eek:
Honestly, nothing has changed other than our attention in that part of Africa.
Case in point. As Tom and I sat in the middle of a refugee crisis wondering what the folks in K-town were doing and why we weren't getting support, the embassy was planning a quiet way out, by explaining this would last but a week or two, tops :confused:
Rape victims were hardly worth reading (Tom reported those too).
Regards, Stan
Stan:
do you really think there was as much rape in congo in before 94 as
there is now? there are more armed groups running around now than
there were then. i always read there is more now, but you and Tom are
the guys who should know. the sight of those women bent over carrying
those huge loads will always stay with me.
Hey Carl,
Per our e-mails, here are my observations and overall opinion.
First (forgive me for this reality check), the Zairians never considered or defined getting laid by force as rape. Whether or not the 'partner' was willing, is not relevant. We could call this 'date rape' but an entirely different set of customs, traditions and mind set.
Case in point: While in Gbadolite on an MTT (Tom was in fact in Zaire, but we never met) training on 113s and 114s, and M2HBs, one of the Special Presidential Division (DSP) officers told us (my team) we could have 'anything' we wanted tonite, and to point her out once we've decided. One of the team members decided he would go for it. The next morning he told us he could not go through with 'it' although she was extremely sexy and otherwise available. She was told by the DSP officer, that this Soldier wants you, and your President dictates that you perform. The women cried and begged, and finally our team member returned to the hotel 'no joy'. That was a rather friendly form of almost rape. Had that DSP officer wanted it for himself...well, far less conversation.
I doubt that the levels or rape being reported are that high, but I also doubt people reporting these instances have a clue as to what they think goes on each and every day in Zaire. The press and UN have brought the issue to the surface and created an otherwise typical Zairian day into a nightmare.
Carl, it's not right...it's sick. It however takes place from the top down to the very last individual, and not just in the bush. I met plenty of Belgians who did the very same (my twisted 55 year-old neighbor). I have no idea what the extent is, but conclude it's little more than normal for Zairians.
Regards, Stan
Yet another plan, blessed by the U.N. and full of political rhetoric. MONUC would be wise to view any agreements tied to physical movement (of Congolese soldiers) in the DRC with great care and skepticism.
Quote:
Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have reached an agreement that will see the latter disarm and expel genocidal forces, grouped in what is known as the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).
DRC agreed to prepare a detailed plan to disarm the militia, while the UN Mission in Congo (Monuc) agreed to 'provide support to the planning and subsequent implementation consistent with its mandate and capacities.'
The plan will be shared with the Rwandan government by December 1, the communiqué added.
Congo refugees flee after attack near camp, By Joe Bavier, KINSHASA (Reuters)
Quote:
Thousands of refugees fled camps in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo's violent North Kivu province on Tuesday after the army said Tutsi-dominated insurgents attacked its positions nearby.
Army officials said they repelled the dawn raid on their positions near the Mugunga camp 10 km (6 miles) from the provincial capital, Goma, killing 27 fighters loyal to renegade General Laurent Nkunda.
"There's a massive movement of displaced towards Goma. It's thousands of people. They're packed onto the road, carrying whatever they can," Aya Shneerson, director of the U.N.'s World Food Programme in Goma, told Reuters by telephone on the main road from the camps into the city.
Tuesday's fighting followed diplomatic pressure to find a peaceful solution to the crisis in North Kivu, which some fear could escalate to full-scale war. Both the U.N. and U.S. have sent high-level delegations to North Kivu this month.
On Saturday, Congo and Rwanda agreed to collaborate to rid eastern Congo of the Hutu-dominated rebel Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), whose presence is a cause of the current crisis.
Now here's an interesting approach..truck em home.
I may have to once again ask Tom why we didn't just bus the folks back across the borders :rolleyes:
Quote:
The United Nations refugee agency has this week begun an operation to return hundreds of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to their homes in the troubled north-eastern province of Ituri by the end of the year.
On Monday a convoy organized by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) took about 210 Congolese from Beni in North Kivu province, which has become extremely volatile this year, along bush tracks to the town of Komanda, which is located in Ituri.
A second convoy, this time carrying 216 returnees, left Beni early today bound for Ituri province, according to a press report issued by UNHCR.
Two convoys each week are planned over the next month so that eventually an estimated 2,400 Congolese should be able to return to Ituri, with further returns dependent on demand.
The Lord's Resistance Army, Ebola, and Incompetent Governors: C'est Normale! C'est le Congo!
Quote:
Assembly members passed a motion of no-confidence against Cibalonza, the
South Kivu governor on 14 November, saying he had managed the province's
affairs badly and had failed to tackle rampant insecurity. Under the
constitution, a governor subjected to a no-confidence motion is supposed to
hand his resignation to the national president within 24 hours and dissolve
his provincial government. The governor has flown to Kinshasa for
consultation, but there is a developing crisis involving the civil society,
students, religious leaders and politicians of course..
A group of dissidents from Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army rebel group is
preparing to surrender to United Nations peacekeepers in the DR Congo,
western diplomats in Kinshasa told Reuters on Monday. A MONUC spokesman
contacted by Reuters declined to comment. The LRA agreed to a truce during
peace talks held in southern Sudan in August 2006. But the movement's top
leaders have stayed hidden in Congo(Garamba park), fearing arrest.
Health officials declared the end of an outbreak of deadly Ebola
haemorrhagic fever, believed to have killed up to 187 people over 8 months.
Congo's Health Ministry and the World Health Organisation (WHO) said that a
42-day period following the death of the last Ebola victim had ended on
November 13. Two towns (Mweka and Luebo) were affected by the outbreak in Kasai Occidental some months ago. .
Seems Governor Cibalonza is not quite ready to depart his wealthy posting.
According to French language articles, Cibalonza had just been granted $76 million for his 2008 budget :rolleyes:Quote:
"Since the governor refuses to bend, the dispute can only be resolved in the courts. But in the time that takes, the insecurity is likely to get worse," said Philippe Buyoya, a political scientist at Lubumbashi and Kinshasa universities.
Cibalonza's spokesman and provincial justice minister Alfred Maisha said the governor had formally called on the Supreme Court of Justice in Kinshasa and the court of appeal in Bukavu, South Kivu's capital, to throw out the no-confidence ruling. He said the assembly had given no notice of the motion's debate nor offered the governor a chance to defend himself.
Quote:
Au total, 38 milliards de francs congolais (76 millions de dollars) seront adoptés, à la grande joie du Gouverneur de province Célestin Cibalonza
UN News Center, 20 November 2007 – Citing ongoing security challenges in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
Quote:
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has recommended extending the mandate of the United Nations peacekeeping operation in the vast country for one more year, suggesting that a drawdown could commence following the holding of local elections.
In a new report to the Security Council, Mr. Ban paints a mixed picture of progress in the DRC, which has shown signs of good governance and stability but still faces long-standing security challenges in its volatile eastern region.
The Secretary-General recommends renewing MONUC’s mandate for one year with the current level of uniformed personnel – now nearly 18,400 troops and police, in addition to a full complement of civilian staff – at least until the end of local elections expected to be held in the second half of 2008.
Rwandan Government maintains Ebola alert
Quote:
KIGALI - Rwanda will maintain the red alert issued on Ebola two months ago irrespective of DR Congo’s declaration on Monday that the deadly haemorrhagic fever has been contained and wiped out.
The State Minister in-charge of HIV/Aids and other Infectious Diseases, Dr Innocent Nyaruhirira, said yesterday that preventive measures, announced since the viral disease broke out in eastern DRC in September, are still in place.
“We can’t just accept such declaration without confirmation from the World Health Organisation (WHO),” Dr Nyaruhirira said Some of the control measures government announced include screening of travellers from DRC at various entry border posts into Rwanda.
From Rwanda's New Times, Congo soldiers shoot at Rwandan border
To quote Tom: "The Nemesis of all travellers in the Congo - the military checkpoint." So glad to see that more than a dacade later, life in the DRC is 'normal' :D
And this is how one crosses the DRC border relatively unharmed. It's called a payoff :wry:Quote:
Congolese soldiers on Monday fired three bullets into the Rwandan territory of Petite Barriere, causing pandemonium as hundreds of Rwandan businesspersons at the border fled for their dear lives.
Jean Damascene Mungarakarama, a Rwandan who was at the Congolese side before the incident, claimed there were ‘brutal acts on Rwandans’ that culminated into the shooting.
He said: “I don’t know what had happened to the Congolese soldiers but they were so hostile and rude. We found them holding and beating up an old man who had just crossed the border claiming he was going to Laurent Nkunda (a Congelese rebel general).
“When we reached there, they asked us for the documents and they took them a way and started beating us and tried to lock us into a small room.
Quote:
Unfortunately (sic) another soldier who happened to be my friend came and stopped them saying they shouldn’t do any thing harmful to me because I was his friend they finally left us,” he added.
But Stan, for once they HIT (Rwanda) what they were shooting at :wry:Quote:
Congo soldiers shoot at Rwandan border
BY MARTIN TINDIWENSI
Congolese soldiers on Monday fired three bullets into the Rwandan territory of Petite Barriere, causing pandemonium as hundreds of Rwandan businesspersons at the border fled for their dear lives.
No reasons were given for the shooting but Rubavu Police officers said they were investigating the provocative act.
Hey Tom !
True dat !
Let's begin with some common fallacies. A sharpshooter is NOT a sniper, and a Congolese soldier is certainly not a sharpshooter (unless otherwise on full auto) :D
I ran across this site looking for 'will of the Congolese'.
It may as well have been you that wrote it (I think you did).
Quote:
Friday, February 1, 2002
With all the might with which Democratic Congo's Mt. Nyiragongo erupted, it killed only less than 200 people. In contrast, the number so far killed in the civil war approaches 1.5 million.
And yet the world is yet to react to that horror. That is not normal. Is it that we are no longer concerned? Is it because the Congo is deep in the heart of Africa, rich and with a working war economy?
Well I have written it in various places and I have said it:
Quote:
On the Spot in Rwanda: The Challenge to Diplomats and Journalists in Reporting the Genocide
It has been ten years since the genocide in Rwanda, which saw its most intensive slaughter in the spring of 1994. In light of the 10-year anniversary of the tragic events in Rwanda, on April 14 the Institute hosted a special roundtable discussion with three journalists and three diplomats who were on the ground in Kigali and in the region at the time. Moderated by Michael Southwick, former Institute Africa specialist and then deputy chief of mission to the U.S. Embassy in Kenya, the session featured discussion of the multiple challenges faced by journalists in their efforts to obtain and report the story as it unfolded and the role of American diplomats in the region to shape the response of policymakers. The panel discussion was followed by a general question and answer session moderated by Southwick.
Speakers
(Note: 1994 Affiliations listed for all speakers)
Panel I
Alex Belida
Voice of America
Donatella Lorch
New York Times
Jennifer Parmalee
Washington Post
Panel II
Thomas Odom
U.S. Military Attaché to Rwanda and Zaire
David Rawson
U.S. Ambassador to Rwanda
Michael Southwick, Moderator
Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S. Embassy Kenya
MONUC - Rebels, army clash in east Congo, amid worsening humanitarian crisis.
Quote:
...government troops battled rebels for a third day straight amid a worsening humanitarian crisis that has displaced nearly 200,000 people in the past few months, a U.N. military spokesman said.
Clashes between the army and insurgents loyal to rebel leader Laurent Nkunda erupted early Friday around Rugari, about 35 kilometers (20 miles) north of the regional capital, Goma, said Maj. Viveck Goyal, a spokesman for the 18,000-strong peacekeeping force.
"The initial information we have is that the Nkunda elements are being pushed away from Rugari," Goyal said.
Looks like Rwanda was smart to maintain the red alert issued on Ebola longer. Appears it's not over.
Uganda, 29 November
Quote:
KAMPALA, Nov 29 (Reuters) - A new strain of the deadly Ebola virus has infected 51 people and killed 16 in an area of Uganda near the border with Democratic Republic of Congo, U.S. and Ugandan health officials said on Thursday.
"The mysterious disease outbreak in Bundibugyo has now been confirmed to be Ebola disease," Dr. Sam Zaramba, the Ugandan Health Ministry's director of health services, said in a statement.
Genetic analysis of samples taken from some of the victims shows it is a previously unknown type of Ebola, Dr. Tom Ksiazek of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
"This virus didn't behave as would be expected of some of the known strains," Ksiazek said in a telephone interview. "That tipped us off that this is probably a novel or new strain of Ebola."
Ugandan health officials have said that the virus appears to be unusually mild, but Ksiazek said it is not yet clear whether this is the case. He said experts need to check to see how many diagnosed patients are still alive.
Voices of violence - Congolese in eastern DR Congo tell how the recent violence has affected them. Residents of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo tell the BBC News website how the recent violence between rebels loyal to dissident General Laurent Nkunda and government soldiers in the region has affected them.
Nothing new with the above statement; typical Congolese mentality and equally typical Congolese government comprehension driven by fear and incapabilities in the region.Quote:
I can't reach my workers because of network problems. But I know they would've fled to the district where Nkunda is in control...They see that as the area where they have security.
All I know is that they run to his area because they have been badly-treated by the government. The government accuses people who live near and around the area where my farm is of supporting Nkunda's troops and so they cannot turn to the government for protection.
However this one really got me !
Huh ?Quote:
How can the government fight both Nkunda and the FDLR?
There is a feeling here in Bukavu that the US and the UK are supporting Nkunda through Rwanda.
Government troops who took rebel territory are being driven out again !
That's kind of got a ring of optimism :wry:Quote:
Rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo have recaptured the eastern town of Mushake, which they lost last week.
They are also reported to have retaken positions in another important village nearby, Karuba.
There is no clear indication so far of the scale of casualties in the fighting, but another BBC correspondent has seen "many" government soldiers in hospital in Goma with bullet wounds, with more arriving.
Government forces began an operation last week against forces loyal to a renegade ex-general, Laurent Nkunda.
An army spokesman told the BBC the government would try to re-take the lost territory once more.
Rebels gain ground in DR Congo clashes
Quote:
A week after Congolese forces launched an offensive in the troubled eastern province of Nord-Kivu, rebels were gaining back ground.
Loyalists of renegade ex-general Laurent Nkunda said they had retaken several positions, including Mushake and Karuba, strategic villages west of the provincial capital Goma only recently under government control.
"We have just retaken Karuba this afternoon. We have seized arms and munitions. We are also holding Mushake," rebel spokesman Seraphin Mirindi told AFP.
A spokeswoman for the UN mission in DR Congo (MONUC), Sylvie van den Wildenberg, confirmed the rebels had taken Mushake, which the army had only gained control of five days previously.
"We also have had information of an attack by Nkunda troops on Karuba," a village the army had taken from the rebels in October, she told AFP.
Army commanders could not be reached for comment.
The rebel advances mark a reversal for the army that appeared to be consolidating its positions in Nord-Kivu just a few hours before the rebel counter-attack, UN and army sources said.
Doesn't it.:wry: But then, Kinshasa is a little ways down the road (or the river) from Kivu.
If 25,000 Government troops couldn't beat 4,000 rebel troops when they were fresh and before their morale had taken a hard thrashing, how can they expect to do so now. The incompetence of the Congolese Army is sadly of nearly legendary proportions; conversely, Tutsi-base Armies in the region have established reputations of something like real competence, at times anyway.
Hey Norfolk !
Indeed, K-Town is a ways from Northern Kivu. The (then) Zairian government operated in much the same manner however. After spending more than a decade teaching, working and reporting on them, I can safely say little has changed (other than the name of the country). As Nichols often says: You can take the man out of WAWA, but you can't take the WAWA out of the man. Well Said !
I have some real doubts about those numbers - just a gut feeling though.
I'd conclude that Nkunda has more than 6 or 7,000 (if not more standing at the ready 'somewhere else') and I sincerely doubt that the DRC ever sent more than 2 or 3,000 at any given time, anywhere.
Tom can cut in anytime with his appraisals that I most welcome, but we've watched those folks try to swindle barely a company of troops into an aircraft to 'asylum', and that had some very intriguing moments on the flight home !
The only time I ever witnessed 'military movement' was with the DSP or Guard Civil in the early 90's. All those maneuvers accomplished was a shift in area control, and then back to the artful task of screwin' folks out of whatever they happen to have.
If you get a chance, give Tom's chapter a quick read.
Regards, Stan
I just always looked at FAZ (now DRC) numbers as pure fog. In all my study of the Congolese military going back to colonial days, I never really found an instant where a Conglese unit --without some form of dramatic stiffening--ever took on an armed combatant and even stayed to fight, much less won.
Now if there was rape and loot to be had against an unarmed foe, then by all means the ANC/FAZ/whatever was clearly eager. Hell they would fight each other for the opportunity.
Best
Tom
UN Integrated Regional Information Networks
11 December 2007, Kinshasa
Quote:
Troops loyal to dissident general Laurent Nkunda in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have regained control of the town of Mushake in the eastern North Kivu province, which they had lost to government forces less than a week earlier, military sources said.
UN-supported Radio Okapi quoted the deputy commander of government troops in North Kivu, Colonel Delphin Kahimbi, as admitting the army had suffered some setbacks.
The UN Mission in DRC, MONUC, was more specific, with Major Prem Kumar Tiwari, MONUC's spokesman in Goma, North Kivu's capital, saying: "Nkunda's troops have taken up positions around Mushake and Mushake itself. The regular army is no longer present there."
Yup, there you go. They beat feet in proud Congo fashion.Quote:
The UN Mission in DRC, MONUC, was more specific, with Major Prem Kumar Tiwari, MONUC's spokesman in Goma, North Kivu's capital, saying: "Nkunda's troops have taken up positions around Mushake and Mushake itself. The regular army is no longer present there."
Take a quick gander at this lesson plan :eek:
BTW, yes, the 25,000 I was wonderin' about (on payroll) :DQuote:
Teacher Input
• Provide an interactive lecture with images regarding Mobutu Sese Seko’s corrupt rule from 1965-1997 and the First African World War conditions in 2000. Use images from the Resources section to help students visualize the conflict and the countries participating. The New York Times lesson plan contains excellent maps. Images can be shared via an LCD projector, an Aver Key connection from your computer to a classroom television, or by overhead transparencies.
Key Questions:
• What are the main causes of the African World War?
• How have the DRC’s natural resources and ethnic conflicts played a part in this war?
• Why did a civil war in one country turn into a “world war” involving several nations?
EDIT: Get's better at Wiki
:cool:Quote:
# 2.1 Mass Scale Looting
# 2.2 Active Extraction Phase
Thanks Stan, I got it.:) At this rate, I'm going to have a "Thomas P. Odom" shelf for books and articles.
Is it physically impossible for the DRC (not to mention some others in the region) to raise fighting forces that actually can and will fight (and win) aginst competent/semi-competent opponents, or is this pretty much a Tutsi monopoly in those parts?
The quick and pathetic answer is no. They have no hope or clue and leadership at the government level is worthless.
Take a few steps back however to late 89: The Israelis were funding and training the DSP (Special Presidential Division); the Egyptians were funding and training the Civil Guard; and the US was funding, doing, and attempting to train the Zairian Air Force and keeping their 130s flying. We were up to other great things then as well.
After the 2nd civil war, things went decidedly off-course and most of us left (evacuated is a better term…save military personnel.
Tom did some great reporting back then regarding ‘ghost soldiers’ used primarily for flag officers to obtain higher monthly figures. Long story...
Tom, your turn !
later on the 'mixed brigades' got formed. As proven that became a fiasco.
grtz