Gazing in the Congo (DRC): the dark heart of Africa (2006-2017)

[Stan]

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

Rwandan Government maintains Ebola alert

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.

[Stan]

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'

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.

And this is how one crosses the DRC border relatively unharmed. It's called a payoff

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.

[Tom Odom]

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.

But Stan, for once they HIT (Rwanda) what they were shooting at

[Stan]

But Stan, for once they HIT (Rwanda) what they were shooting at

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)

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).

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?

[Tom Odom]

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)

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).

Well I have written it in various places and I have said it:

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

[Stan]

MONUC - Rebels, army clash in east Congo, amid worsening humanitarian crisis.

...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.

[Stan]

Looks like Rwanda was smart to maintain the red alert issued on Ebola longer. Appears it's not over.

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. .

Uganda, 29 November

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.

[Stan]

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.

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.

Nothing new with the above statement; typical Congolese mentality and equally typical Congolese government comprehension driven by fear and incapabilities in the region.

However this one really got me !

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.

Huh ?

[Stan]

Government troops who took rebel territory are being driven out again !

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.

That's kind of got a ring of optimism

Rebels gain ground in DR Congo clashes

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.

[Norfolk]

Government troops who took rebel territory are being driven out again !

That's kind of got a ring of optimism

Rebels gain ground in DR Congo clashes

Doesn't it. 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.

[Stan]

Hey Norfolk !

Doesn't it. But then, Kinshasa is a little ways down the road (or the river) from Kivu.

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 !

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.

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

[Tom Odom]

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

[Stan]

UN Integrated Regional Information Networks

11 December 2007, Kinshasa

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."

[Tom Odom]

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.

[Stan]

Yup, there you go. They beat feet in proud Congo fashion.

The regular army is no longer present there

So, Tom, where did the 25,000 troops go...

[Tom Odom]

So, Tom, where did the 25,000 troops go...

You mean the list of 25,000 troops don't you? You know the ones the generals use to draw payroll with?

[Stan]

Take a quick gander at this lesson plan

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?

BTW, yes, the 25,000 I was wonderin' about (on payroll)

EDIT: Get's better at Wiki

# 2.1 Mass Scale Looting
# 2.2 Active Extraction Phase

[Norfolk]

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

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?

[Stan]

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 !

[ancien]

later on the 'mixed brigades' got formed. As proven that became a fiasco.

grtz