Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09KINSHASA326
2009-04-06 11:13:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Kinshasa
Cable title:  

EASTERN DRC NOTES - APRIL 6

Tags:  PGOV PREL MOPS PHUM PREF KPKO CG 
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DE RUEHKI #0326 0961113
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 061113Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY KINSHASA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9431
INFO RUEHXR/RWANDA COLLECTIVE
RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUZEJAA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
UNCLAS KINSHASA 000326 

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL MOPS PHUM PREF KPKO CG
SUBJECT: EASTERN DRC NOTES - APRIL 6

UNCLAS KINSHASA 000326

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL MOPS PHUM PREF KPKO CG
SUBJECT: EASTERN DRC NOTES - APRIL 6


1. (U) The items contained in this report consist principally of
spot information from various sources. This report is not
exhaustive, nor can all the information contained therein be
confirmed at this time.

Security Situation
--------------


2. (SBU) Armed men looted the International Rescue Committee
offices in Nyalima on April 2; affiliation of the looters is
unclear. FARDC troops in the area just south of Lake Edward have
not carried out their threat to engage in systematic looting if they
are not paid, but individual incidents still occur on a daily basis.
Further south, MONUC reports several casualties from an attack by
bandits on travelers on the road between Walikale and Kibua.


3. (SBU) Just south of Hombo, the FDLR recently looted the village
of Kirali, close to Bunyakiri. The prospects for clashes between
the FARDC and FDLR in the area remain high.


4. (U) MONUC Spokesman Madnodge Mounabai announced that
it would deploy approximately 300 police in Rutshuru and Masisi to
help improve the security situation. Mounabai cautioned that,
although the military capacity of the FDLR has diminished, the group
still represents a threat to security.

Integration
--------------


5. (SBU) According to MONUC sources, as many as 715 PARECO troops
in Pinga are reportedly ready to integrate into the FARDC. The
PARECO sources, who informed MONUC of this, claim that PARECO
"General" Ntasibanga, who has threatened to attack Pinga, only
commands 30 men.

Humanitarian Situation
--------------


6. (SBU) OCHA estimates that a total of 1.4 million people remain
displaced in the Eastern DRC. Since January 1, an additional
285,000 have been displaced in the region, while approximately
300,000 have returned to their homes. Returnees are primarily those
who originally fled out of fear of the CNDP. The new IDP's are
predominantly Congolese who fear FDLR or FARDC abuses.


7. (SBU) A Dutch diplomat, who recently traveled to Lubero, told us
that there was an emerging humanitarian crisis in Lubero. Local
NGO's informed him that 150,000 to 300,000 IDP's have poured into
the area from the west to escape FDLR reprisals and FARDC looting.
Many of these IDP's reportedly had migrated westwards over the past
ten years, so they are returning to the homes of family and friends,
rather than to IDP camps.


8. (SBU) Comment: The IDP patterns in Eastern DRC attest to the
convoluted nature of the conflict. In some places, the FARDC are
considered protectors; in other places, predators. Populations that
coexisted with the FDLR for many years have begun to flee from them
while lamenting the passing of the predictable nature of FDLR
oppression. Communities who fled the CNDP are returning, despite
the fact that the same CNDP fighters remain in the area (in FARDC
units) and that there is reduced security along the roads. In
general, civilians are flowing back into regions along the border
with Rwanda and Uganda, while fleeing from threats further west.
End comment.

MONUC Conference
--------------


9. (SBU) A senior MONUC military officer said that a
recently-concluded MONUC conference in Kinshasa resulted in several
decisions. MONUC will increase its public outreach efforts by using
more interpreters (primarily from the FARDC) to interact with local
residents. MONUC has requested an additional 18 utility
helicopters, partly to support increasing logistical demands and
partly because it wants to free up attack helicopters for Operation
Kimia II. The officer said SRSG Doss addressed the conference via
video link, urging the commanders to prepare to use force against
the FDLR while improving their interaction with local communities.
The UN has produced a new handbook titled "Protection in Practice"
to guide MONUC in the massive task of protecting vulnerable
Congolese as the MONUC/FARDC operation against the FDLR proceeds.

GARVELINK