U.N. BRIEFS ON ITURI SITUATION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KINSHASA 000410

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV KPKO MOPS PHUM PREL CG
SUBJECT: U.N. BRIEFS ON ITURI SITUATION



1. (U) SUMMARY: U.N. officials briefed Kinshasa-based
diplomats and humanitarian workers on March 8 about the
current situation in Ituri. They stressed the need for the
GDRC to adopt a clear position towards Ituri militias and to
address the dire humanitarian situation they have caused. End
Summary.

Militia at Loga Were Well-Organized
--------------

2. (SBU) MONUC military chief of staff Gen. Jean-Francois
Collot d'Escury briefed Kinshasa-based diplomats and
humanitarian workers on March 8 about MONUC's recent
operation in Ituri against the Front for National Integration
(FNI) militia group. The March 1 clash with the FNI at
Loga--pitting 242 Pakistanis, Nepalese and South Africans
against over 450 militiamen--began when the latter opened
fire on the MONUC force. Gen. Collot d'Escury noted that the
FNI force was well-armed and employed sound tactics. The
MONUC force therefore approached deliberately and slowly to
give civilians time to flee the village. Subsequent missions
by MONUC and MSF have not found evidence of civilian
casualties from the Loga operation, he added.

GDRC Policy Towards Ituri Unclear
--------------

3. (SBU) Dominique McAdams, the MONUC/Bunia's civilian head
of office, emphasized that the GDRC needed to clarify its
stance towards the armed groups in Ituri. She said that
although some Ituri militia leaders were under "house arrest"
in Kinshasa, the GDRC had yet to officially charge or detain
any of them for their role in destabilizing Ituri. She also
said the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) militia had failed
to send to Kinshasa any of the UPC officers integrated into
the national army on January 10, yet the GDRC had not taken
any action against them. Finally, McAdams noted that over 100
villages had been burned and over 50,000 people had been
displaced by militias in Ituri over the past 10 weeks, yet
the GDRC has remained silent on the humanitarian crisis.

MONUC Alleges Ugandan Support to Militias
--------------

4. (SBU) Gen. Collot d'Escury said the level of
sophistication shown by FNI militias during the Loga
operation and the type of arms seized from them pointed to
external support, most likely from Uganda. McAdams also
alleged that officers from various militias, including UPC
and Popular Armed Forces of the Congo (FAPC) travel
frequently to Kampala without any impediments. She noted that
earlier in the year a group of militia had evacuated the
village of Joo on the shores of Lake Albert and taken a boat
towards Uganda with all their arms. (Note: In November 2004
poloff crossed the DRC-Ugandan border twice from the town of
Aru, Ituri in the company of FAPC militias without anyone
having been stopped by Ugandan authorities to present
documents. End Note.)

Militia Attacks Have Caused Humanitarian Crisis
-------------- --

5. (SBU) Jahal De Meritens, head of the UN's Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the DRC, called
attention to the dire humanitarian situation caused by
militias in Ituri. He said humanitarian agencies had a
limited capacity to provide assistance in Ituri, especially
in areas of continued militia activity such as Tche and Kafe,
and called for a coordinated, multi-sector, simultaneous
strategy of assistance. De Meritens said that as of March 8,
the internally displaced population (IDP) in Ituri was as
follows:

- Tche: 21,350
- Kakwa/Kafe: 17,760
- Kasenyi/Tchomia: 15,700
- Gina: 13,495
- Bunia Airport: 10,015
- Lopa: 7,000
- Muhito: 5,305

Congolese Commander Negotiates Militia Disarmament
-------------- --------------

6. (SBU) The commander of the 9th Military Region, General
Padiri Bulende, told poloff March 9 he had obtained an
agreement from the Popular Armed Forces of the Congo (FAPC)
militia in Aru, Ituri, to demobilize 2000 of its fighters.
The national commission for disarmament and demobilization
(CONADER) would usher this group through the disarmament
program in Ituri. Many of these individuals will eventually
join the national army.


7. (U) Bujumbura minimized considered.
MEECE