Dissident General Invites UN to Investigate Abuse Allegations
The Rwandan News Agency reports...DR Congo dissident Gen. Laurent Nkunda has dismissed accusations by the UN Mission in the country (MONUC) that he has been forcefully recruiting children into his forces.
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We are scandalized by the denigrations and other untrue charges against the CNDP (Nkunda's party) on behalf of the MONUC which argued the recruitment of 200 students from the secondary school of Tongo
General Nkunda forces are also alleging that government forces - the FARDC - have been arbitrarily arresting 'innocent Congolese civilians because of their membership of an ethnic group' - in apparent reference to Tutsi civilians.
Nine people of Tutsi ethnic group were arrested months ago in Bunagana and transferred to the Makala Prison on December 9, 2007 without being judged nor heard, Nkunda alleges.
According to him, the organization has information suggesting that more than 31 people arrested at Kibumba in North-Kivu and are illegally jailed in prisons and dungeons in Kinshasa. We will forward to you the names of the prisoners the coming days, the statement to RNA said.
More at the link...
East Congo peace conference
GOMA, Congo (AP) — Hundreds of officials descended on this eastern outpost Thursday to begin preparations for upcoming peace talks even as fighting continued in the tangled forests of eastern Congo.
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Missing from the gathering was the warlord Laurent Nkunda, whose rebellion is at the heart of the spiraling conflict.
In a telephone interview with The Associated Press, his second-in-command said Nkunda had not yet been invited to the peace conference, which is scheduled to begin in Goma on Jan. 6.
"If we receive the invitation, we will be there — no trouble. We are here for peace and not for war," said Bwambale Kakolele, the rebel leader's military commander.
But he said the government was continuing to attack Nkunda's positions as officials rolled into this provincial capital to discuss peace.
"Even this morning these people ... have attacked our troops in Rugari," Kakolele said. "We do not understand."
Nkunda must have missed something thinking 'prep for peace talks' translates into a ceasefire :wry:
GOMA, Congo (Reuters) - Congo's authorities have postponed until January 6 a peace conference aimed at ending conflict in the east...
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...officials said the conference in the North Kivu provincial capital Goma would now begin in earnest on January 6 to allow more time for preparation and for invitations to be sent to participants, including rebel Tutsi General Laurent Nkunda.
President Joseph Kabila is under pressure from the United Nations and the United States to find a political solution to end years of fighting in the Kivus involving government troops, Tutsi insurgents, Rwandan Hutu rebels and Mai Mai militia.
MONUC Weekly press conference, 2 January 2008
Goma - Monuc Supporting the FARDC for Peace Conference Security
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...DRC Armed Forces (FARDC) battalions were transported by helicopter in the past week to North-Kivu to ensure the security of the Goma peace conference, envisaged for 6 January. The mission also supplied isolated FARDC units, and those wounded were evacuated to Goma.
One Nkunda colonel surrendered at Kitchanga mobile operational base with his wife, who has the rank of major, and all were sent to brassage on 26 December.
Sensitising and monitoring efforts continue to target the residual armed groups, whose 25 members have already been identified in Kwandroma.
...South Kivu, in order to improve the security of the population and to aid humanitarian support for those displaced, joint FARDC-MONUC patrols were intensified, and meetings are regularly held with the local authorities.
In parallel, the negotiations are very advanced to transport the Mayi-Mayi of the Zaboloni faction to brassage.
More at the link
surge in rape by fighters from all sides
Most rape victims say their attackers were armed groups of rebels or government soldiers.
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GOMA, Congo, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Intense fighting between government and militia forces in eastern Congo has led to a surge in rape by fighters from all sides, women and doctors say.
Renewed hostilities between the army and troops loyal to renegade Tutsi General Laurent Nkunda have stoked a volatile crucible of violence in Congo's North Kivu province, where traditional Mai Mai fighters and Rwandan Hutu militia also roam.
Sexual violence has escalated as hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to flee the safety of their homes -- around 400,000 people since August, when Nkunda quit a peace deal, bringing North Kivu's displaced population to 800,000.
Congo's government has called a peace summit for Sunday, but there is little optimism the chronic fighting will end soon.