ELEVEN SOLDIERS LEAVE NKUNDA'S FORCES IN NORTH KIVU

C O N F I D E N T I A L KINSHASA 001831 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/05/2016 TAGS: PGOV KPKO MOPS ASEC CG SUBJECT: ELEVEN SOLDIERS LEAVE NKUNDA'S FORCES IN NORTH KIVU REF: KINSHASA 1830 Classified By: PolOff CBrown, reasons 1.4 b/d. ¶1. (C) Eleven soldiers loyal to General Laurent Nkunda, including two top officers, have left the renegade general's forces to be integrated into the Congolese military (FARDC), according to MONUC military officials. MONUC peacekeepers in North Kivu launched a secret mission December 4 to extract Colonel Bernard Mbyamungu and Major Dieudonne Kabika from their positions in Kichanga, approximately 40 miles north of the provincial capital of Goma. Mbyamungu, the third-highest ranking officer in Nkunda's military hierarchy, was reportedly his chief of operations. Kabika served as the secretary general of Nkunda's political party, the National SIPDIS Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP). ¶2. (C) Mbyamungu and Kabika were accompanied by nine other Nkunda troops from the region. All eleven are now in the custody of FARDC officials in Goma and will be sent to integration sites in the near future. ¶3. (C) MONUC-Goma military spokesman Major Ajay Dalal said MONUC commanders had received word of Mbyamungu and Kabika's desire to report for integration December 1 and remained in contact with them during the weekend. A ground operation was launched from Goma December 1 to extract them, but was ultimately thwarted by concerns about potential resistance by pro-Nkunda forces. MONUC then coordinated with regional FARDC commanders and launched a helicopter extraction December 4 in Kichanga. ¶4. (C) Mbyamungu and Kabika's decision to report for integration follows a series of changes in the FARDC's North Kivu command structure, to be reported septel. ¶5. (C) Comment: Mbyamungu and Kabika's decision to integrate into the FARDC is a blow to Nkunda. If military authorities treat them well, the FARDC can demonstrate to other non-integrated forces that integration is a viable option. End comment. MEECE