ITURI UPDATE: MILITIAS SURRENDERING BEFORE NEW

C O N F I D E N T I A L KINSHASA 000959 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/16/2016 TAGS: PGOV KDEM KPKO CG SUBJECT: ITURI UPDATE: MILITIAS SURRENDERING BEFORE NEW DISARMAMENT DEADLINE Classified By: PolOff CBrown, reasons 1.4 b/d. ¶1. (C) According to internal MONUC military reports, 120 militia members -- including two women -- from the Front for National Integration (FNI) in Ituri surrendered June 14 to MONUC and Congolese troops in Toni (approximately 12 miles southeast of Bunia). MONUC military officials said another 50 or so militia members were expected to run over their weapons by June 16. Among the weapons recovered from the surrendering militia members were more than four dozen AK-47 rifles, an anti-tank weapon, five rocket-propelled grenades, four mortars, and more than 16,000 rounds of ammunition. MONUC also reports that in the past week nearly a dozen other militia members from the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) have surrendered to MONUC Pakistani peacekeepers in Nizi (14 miles north of Bunia),while a few other turned in their weapons to MONUC and FARDC troops in Tchomia. ¶2. (C) The new wave of militia disarmament comes as the FARDC's new Ituri Operations Commander General Bwanyama Nsiona issues a new deadline of June 30 for Ituri's militias to disarm. Speaking to residents of Bunia, Nsiona reportedly said he would be using the "carrot and stick" approach in trying to convince militias to surrender. According to FARDC spokesman Captain Olivier Mputu, Nsiona intends to engage the militias in dialogue in an effort to have the voluntarily disarm. Mputu said all militia who give themselves up before the deadline would receive amnesty from the government. To assist in this effort, two disarmament sites will be opened in Aveba (25 miles south of Bunia) and Kpandroma (75 miles north of Bunia) beginning June 19. Mputu said after June 30, however, the FARDC will begin forcible disarming the militias. ¶3. (C) Comment: The increase in militia disarmament in Ituri is certainly welcome news. The demobilization and reinsertion of these ex-combatants, however, may be problematic as Congolese efforts at DDR have been poorly managed. Militias are still able to recruit members, particularly from the tanks of ex-combatants, because they offer a level of economic incentives the central government cannot provide. While future military operations promised by the FARDC will aid in brining security to Ituri, there must also be a concerted effort on the part of the GDRC to establish its authority and to rebuild Ituri's economic infrastructure. End comment. MEECE