Rebel Unrest in Eastern DRC
Fighters loyal to Peter Karim and Laurent Nkunda continue to battle against the national army
The Democratic Republic of Congo's civil war is officially over but a new spate of conflict threatens the security of almost one hundred thousand people.
One of the first things that Joseph Kabila promised his country after becoming president was to restore order in the war-ravaged provinces. Since results of the run-off election in October, there has been a great deal of rebel activity in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). As DRC emerges from their 1998-2003 civil war that killed an estimated 4 million people, it seems that the peace accords have not been able to prevent sporadic fighting nor have the world's largest peacekeeping forces been able to thwart rebel forces that have intensified assaults recently in the Ituri and Nord-Kivu provinces.
In late November, 'Cobra' Matata Wanaloki, became the 'last Ituri warlord' to sign a peace deal that would allow him and his fighters to become part of the Congolese national army. But, according to Reuters, it seems there is now another 'active warlord in Ituri.' Earlier this week, the Nationalist and Integrationist Front (FNI), led by Peter Karim, took 14 soldiers hostage. The Congolese army has given Karim and his fighters until December 30 to surrender and free their captives. United Nations officials claim that at least 19 Congolese soldiers have been killed in recent battles waged by FNI. According to another UN report in October, Karim had signed a peace agreement and was integrated as a colonel into the Congolese army but continued to tax civilians and conscript men, women and children into his militia as he awaited the outcome of the run-off results.
More rebel activity
Earlier this year, mutineer and rebel leader Laurent Nkunda was offered the rank of general (a title he already holds) in Kinshasa in an attempt to sway him and his 2,000 loyal troops out of the Nord-Kivu bush but the dissident general refused the position. Despite being relatively silent before election results, Nkunda and his troops have since terrorized eastern towns and engaged in combat several times with Indian UN peacekeepers. A few days ago, protesters attacked UN patrols, insisting that their forces take a more aggressive stance against Nkunda. An estimated 80,000 people have been uprooted in recent weeks due to the renegade general's offensives. Nkunda is wanted by international authorities in connection with alleged war crimes committed in June 2004 in the Congolese town of Bukavu.
