NORTH KIVU UPDATE: FARDC LAUNCHES FAILED OFFENSIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L KINSHASA 001846 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/11/2016 TAGS: PGOV KPKO MOPS ASEC CG SUBJECT: NORTH KIVU UPDATE: FARDC LAUNCHES FAILED OFFENSIVE ON NKUNDA POSITIONS REF: KINSHASA 1832 AND PREVIOUS Classified By: PolOff CBrown, reasons 1.4 b/d. ¶1. (C) Summary: Integrated units of the Congolese military (FARDC) attacked positions of non-integrated troops loyal to renegade general Laurent Nkunda near Runyoni and Sake in North Kivu province December 8 and 9. Neither offensive was successful. Divisions appear to be emerging in the FARDC's military command structure in the province. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) The FARDC's 11th and 9th Integrated Brigades (IBs) attacked positions of the non-integrated 83rd Brigade in Runyoni the morning of December 8. Elements of the 83rd loyal to renegade general Laurent Nkunda had captured the DRC border town earlier in the week (reftel). According to internal MONUC military reports, the 11th IB occupied two strategic positions around Runyoni by midday, but soon retreated and began consolidating positions outside the town. ¶3. (SBU) The FARDC's 14th IB launched its own offensive on elements of the 81st and 83rd Brigades outside Sake around 0530 December 9. MONUC-Goma military spokesman Major Ajay Dalal told us the attack was quickly repelled by the pro-Nkunda forces, who may have had advance warning of the offensive. The 14th IB ultimately lost ground and had to pull back toward Sake town. Colonel Delphin Kahimbi, the deputy commander of the DRC's 8th Military Region (North Kivu),told MONUC officials four FARDC troops were killed and 21 injured in the fighting. ¶4. (C) MONUC military reports indicate there has been some confusion and disregard of the chain of command in the FARDC's military leadership. Eighth Military Region commander General Louis Ngizo reportedly told MONUC initially that attacks outside Sake December 8 were in response to an attack by the 81st Brigade the prior evening. In fact, MONUC later confirmed that no such attack by the 81st took place. ¶5. (C) General Ngizo subsequently told MONUC he had not issued any orders to begin operations in Sake. He claimed his deputy, Colonel Kahimbi, was "acting independently" and not consulting with him before launching new offensives. He admitted he was also not receiving updates from his commanders on the situation in Runyoni. ¶6. (C) Colonel Kahimbi blamed MONUC in local media interviews December 9 for the FARDC's poor performance in Sake. He claimed MONUC peacekeepers did not assist the 14th IB's offensive, which consequently lost ground and suffered fatalities. MONUC's Dalal told us Kahimbi had asked MONUC to intervene against the 81st outside Sake, but the request was denied because it did not conform with MONUC's mandate. Dalal confirmed that no MONUC peacekeepers took part in any of the December 8-9 fighting in North Kivu. ¶7. (C) There have been no reports of major fighting since midday December 10. The two FARDC Integrated Brigades had fallen back to their previous locations and began reinforcing their positions. The 81st and 83rd Brigades have also begun consolidating positions around Runyoni. FARDC ground forces chief of staff General Gabriel Amisi, who until August was the commander of the 8th Military Region, arrived in Goma from Kinshasa December 10 to help coordinate military action. ¶8. (C) General Ngizo told MONUC officials several dozen Nkunda loyalists from the 81st and 83rd have left the dissident general's ranks since the fighting in Sake began November 25. Ngizo claimed 67 soldiers have turned themselves in to FARDC officials in North Kivu and said he anticipated "many more" such desertions in recent weeks. ¶9. (C) Comment: The failed offensives in Sake and Runyoni further demonstrate the ineffectiveness in the field of the FARDC's integrated brigades. The uncoordinated FARDC offensives also suggest a dysfunctional command structure in the province. End comment. MEECE