NORTH KIVU IMPASSE CONTINUES; CIVILIANS TAKE OUT

C O N F I D E N T I A L KINSHASA 000006 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/03/2017 TAGS: PGOV MOPS KPKO CG SUBJECT: NORTH KIVU IMPASSE CONTINUES; CIVILIANS TAKE OUT ANGER ON MONUC REF: 06 KINSHASA 01938 Classified By: PolOff TJNaber, reasons 1.4 b/d. ¶1. (C) Following December 28 clashes between the FARDC and troops allied with renegade General Laurent Nkunda (reftel), FARDC 8th Military Region (MR) Commander General Ngizo met with Nkunda loyalist representatives of the 81st and 83rd Brigades. During the December 29 meeting, Ngizo reiterated that the 83rd Brigade was a part of the 8th Military Region and under his command. He said there needed to be a separation of forces, which MONUC could monitor. One of the Nkunda representatives, Lt. Col. Makenga of the 83rd Brigade, called the December 28 fighting "premeditated" and refused to withdraw from Bugusa or Jomba. According to MONUC North Kivu Brigade Commander General Pramod Behl, the capture of Bugusa and Jomba opened up an axis toward Rutshuru and could signal a plan to target Rutshuru by Nkunda. Behl privately criticized the 8th MR for continuing to ignore MONUC's advice to address the crisis and contain the rebels. ¶2. (SBU) Hours before the December 29 meeting, a crowd attacked three MONUC North Kivu Brigade patrols near Rutshuru. The crowd, reportedly mainly Rutshuru town residents, burned tires and pelted a North Kivu Brigade patrol with stones. A second patrol that came to the aid of the first was also attacked. A third patrol arrived and fired into the air to disperse the crowd. According to MONUC's Radio Okapi, the protesters accused MONUC of failing to intervene in the clashes between the FARDC and Nkunda elements. Representatives of the protesters attended a meeting with FARDC, MONUC, and police officers the same day. They said MONUC was hampering FARDC operations against the rebels, giving bad advice, and creating buffer zones between the rebels and the FARDC, thus preventing FARDC operations' success. ¶3. (C) Behl met with FARDC Chief of Staff General Kisempia the evening of December 29. Behl told Kisempia that MONUC believed members of the 9th Integrated Brigade, led by Colonel Smith, had instigated the violence. Behl said the apparent motive was to shift blame for FARDC failure against the rebels to MONUC. Behl also met with North Kivu Governor Eugene Serufuli the same evening. Serufuli promised to educate the public on MONUC's role and to urge patience with negotiations. Behl gave an interview to Radio Okapi on December 30 in which he said that MONUC was not taking part in the negotiations between Nkunda and FARDC, nor were MONUC troops involved in any fighting. ¶4. (C) On December 30, another skirmish broke out between the FARDC and Nkunda elements at Chengerero (5 km from Bunagana) with the result that FARDC defenses were again pushed back. Ngizo told Behl January 2 that political level talks involving Nkunda and arranged by FARDC Air Force Chief of Staff John Numbi were held in Kigali January 1. Ngizo also said the seventh meeting between the FARDC and commanders of the 81st and 83rd Brigades was scheduled for January 3. ¶5. (C) Comment: The scattered violence is taking place while numerous behind-the-scenes negotiations are underway. It appears that government official still hope for a political solution. End comment. DOUGHERTY