EASTERN DRC NOTES - APRIL 27

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KINSHASA 000410 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL MOPS PHUM PREF KPKO CG SUBJECT: EASTERN DRC NOTES - APRIL 27 ¶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) MONUC sources say the villages of Kayna and Kamba (north of Kanyabayongo) have received threatening messages from the FDLR, warning that the group will target them next for destruction and retribution. MONUC and the FARDC are deployed to the area, but the FDLR typically avoids villages where it may encounter armed resistance. The police chief in the village of Luofo, who was badly beaten by FDLR marauders on April 17, has died of his wounds. ¶3. (SBU) Ten FDLR combatants and 21 dependents have surrendered to MONUC at Kashebere. Another five FDLR combatants surrendered in South Kivu last week. ¶4. (SBU) A new Mai Mai group under "Colonel" Eszera has emerged near Bitobolo in South Kivu. The group robbed unarmed MONUC military observers at a roadblock along the Lake Tanganyika road last week. ¶5. (SBU) The FARDC has looted the village of Konge (near Bukavu), as well as Muku and Rawakabiri (near Walugu) in South Kivu. MONUC notes that the responsible soldiers are not part of Operation Kimia II, and may not have received pay or rations. At present, MONUC is providing food to 16,000 FARDC troops who are participating in Operation Kimia II. A EUSEC source reports that 6,000 of the 30,000 FARDC troops in the Kivus have not been paid for January, and a similar number were not paid for February. All of the troops have reportedly been paid for March, even if they were not registered and/or issued biometric identification. Newly integrated troops received a fixed amount regardless of rank. ¶6. (SBU) MONUC and the FARDC continue to put pressure on armed groups in Ituri. The FRPI may be out of food and ammunition and ready to surrender, according to a MONUC source. The FARDC has occupied Poto Poto and plans to begin the third phase of its campaign on April 27. Integration -------------- ¶7. (SBU) MONUC has exhausted the $10 million set aside to build regroupment centers for integration. It is now waiting for committed funds from Germany to continue construction in South Kivu. ¶8. (SBU) The leader of Mai Mai Kifuafua told Goma PolOff on April 24 that he has over 2,000 fighters deep in the bush around Walikale who have not been integrated. He claimed that the fighters could not leave their protection duties to come into regroupment centers. He also claimed that Kinshasa politicians and businessmen have approached him and asked if his fighters could be available as part of an armed opposition movement against the GDRC. PolOff noted that Mai Mai Kifuafua had signed the agreement marking the end of armed struggle in the Kivus, and any move to take up arms against the legitimate government of the DRC could be considered treason (Comment: This self-promoting Mai Mai leader is seeking attention or position and is vastly overstating his strength. Several dozen Mai Mai Kifuafua fighters have entered regroupment centers in North Kivu, apparently without his knowledge. Nor did they turn in any weapons. End comment). The Volatile Border Region -------------- ¶9. (SBU) An NGO contact, who just returned from the Hombo-Bukavu axis, reports that the area is thick with FARDC troops. The contact stated that many "Rwandans" are conspicuous by their language and slight variance in uniform (Comment: These are more likely CNDP, many of whom speak Kinyarwanda and maintain some vestige of their previous CNDP camouflage uniforms to distinguish themselves from the regular FARDC. End comment). The FARDC are an unwelcome presence in villages, taxing anyone who passes their roadblocks. Even children on their way to school were searched by soldiers, noted the source. The FDLR had been a major presence in the area, and often provided produce to village markets. Those markets are now largely empty. The FDLR has faded into the thick forests, but has engaged in hit and run attacks against the FARDC and burned some houses in retaliation against locals (Comment: The area remains one of the most volatile in the Kivus, and planned operations against the FDLR KINSHASA 00000410 002 OF 002 will likely spark new incidents of retaliation. End comment). GARVELINK