EASTERN DRC NOTES - APRIL 30; BOSCO ALLEGEDLY PART

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KINSHASA 000424

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/30/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL MOPS PHUM PREF KPKO CG
SUBJECT: EASTERN DRC NOTES - APRIL 30; BOSCO ALLEGEDLY PART
OF KIMIA II

Classified By: Ambassador William J. Garvelink for reasons 1.4 (b) and
(d)


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.

Bosco Allegedly Part of Kimia II
--------------


2. (U) BBC and Reuters reports claim that Bosco Ntaganda is
playing a key role in Operation Kimia II. According to these
reports, an internal army document allegedly refers to Bosco
as the Deputy Coordinator for Operation Kimia II. The
Reuters article claims that a MONUC report sent to SRSG Alan
Doss on April 8 demonstrated that UN officials were told of
Bosco's position. Additionally, Colonel Delphin (FARDC
commander of Kimia II operations for South Kivu) is quoted
directly in the Reuters article as confirming Bosco's role as
an advisor to General Amuli. Doss, however, reportedly
followed up on the aforementioned report, with the FARDC
assuring him that Bosco was not involved and that his name
does not appear on any of the official documents regarding
the command structure.


3. (C) Sebastian Fasanello of MONUC's Joint Mission Analysis
Cell underlined for us on April 29 that Doss and the Force
Commander have made it very clear to the Minister of Defense
and the CHOD that Bosco's involvement in Kimia II or in any
other FARDC activity with MONUC would trigger automatic MONUC
withdrawal from any cooperation with the army. He stated
that Bosco has neither participated in any joint planning
session nor any other activity related to Kimia II, and that
his name does not appear in the command structure documents
for the operation. Fasanello questioned as well whether the
GDRC would be so imprudent to involve Bosco in this manner,
cognizant of the international community's reaction.
Likewise, Christian Manahl, Head of MONUC's Political Affairs
Division, told us that he has no evidence that Bosco is
involved in Kimia II.


4. (C) Comment: We believe these press reports strain
credibility, in particular the implication that MONUC is both
aware of and complicit in Bosco's alleged involvement in
Kimia II. At the same time, what is true is that Bosco is
part of the FARDC and the GDRC is playing a delicate game in
terms of the inherent conflict between its international
obligations to turn Bosco over to the ICC and the political
realities and necessities surrounding the integration process
in the east. It is, unfortunately, not beyond the realm of
possibility that the FARDC is trying to placate Bosco with
titular involvement in Kimia II. Nor is it implausible that
the sources for this story are deliberately trying to
sabotage Kimia II with false information. End comment.

Security Situation in the Kivus
--------------


5. (U) Minister of Defense Charles Mwando Nsimba told the
Kinshasa press corps on April 28 that Kimia II would start
within the next two weeks. The operation, according to
Mwando, would last three months.


6. (SBU) The South Kivu brigade has reportedly called on the
FARDC to discharge all child soldiers before the start of
Kimia II. Radio Okapi reported that, if the FARDC did not
act to deal with the problem of child soldiers in its ranks,
MONUC support for the operation would indeed be in question.
MONUC sources maintain that there are approximately 100 child
soldiers in the 14th integrated brigade based at Bunyakiri.
South Kivu civil society has voiced support for the MONUC
position. Colonel Delphin maintained that he has given his
commanders an ultimatum: discharge all child soldiers or the
commanders will be punished.


7. (SBU) General Amuli, MONUC Force Commander Gaye and North
Kivu Brigade Commander General Rawat met in Goma on April 27
to plan logistics for Operation Kimia II. MONUC will support
16,000 FARDC troops in North and South Kivu with fuel,
rations, medical supplies and communications. MONUC will
also provide support to soldiers' families.


8. (SBU) MONUC reported that between six and eight PARECO
fighters surrendered over the weekend just south of Nyanzale.
Other sources in MONUC claim up to 600 FDLR fighters have

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expressed a desire to repatriate from a remote region north
of Walikale (Comment: This is almost certainly an
exaggeration, but we will follow up on the report. End
comment).


9. (SBU) FDLR fighters attacked an FARDC unit south of
Kalehe (South Kivu) and killed three soldiers on April 17.
The FARDC reinforced and launched a counter-attack on April

19. After a brief firefight, the FDLR retreated into the
forest. The FARDC also launched operations against the FDLR
near Kibua in North Kivu.


10. (U) North Kivu civil society groups have issued a
declaration calling on the FARDC to orient the FDLR towards
MONUC camps, with the aim of repatriating the rebel forces.
Simply pushing the FDLR deep into the forest will only
aggravate the situation and cause the rebels to adopt more
aggressive tactics. Responding to the declaration, GDRC
Spokesman Mende agreed that FARDC action against the FDLR
should simply not aim to disperse the groups into the forest
(Comment: We are not so confident that the FARDC will be
willing or able to push FDLR elements in the direction of
disarmament camps. End comment).

Anti-LRA Operations
--------------


11. (SBU) Radio Okapi reported that approximately a dozen
LRA rebels attacked the town of Gangala, located 235
kilometers north of Dungu, on April 26. The rebels, armed
with machetes and guns, looted several houses before
abducting eight villagers to carry their stolen goods. Many
of the remaining locals apparently fled south to Doruma. In
a separate attack, LRA forces looted houses in Ndanda, 98
kilometers from Dungu. It is unknown if there were
casualties from these attacks. Based on recent movements,
MONUC believes some LRA fighters may be moving towards the
CAR.


12. (SBU) A source who is familiar with LRA operations said
that rumors that the NGO Caritas has recently provided food
to the LRA are false. Caritas did provide food to the LRA in
Garamba Park during the peace negotiations, but suspended
such assistance when the talks failed.


13. (U) GDRC Spokesman Mende announced that there were
probably "no more than 150 LRA rebels currently in
Haut-Uele." Mende claimed that there were groups of
Congolese citizens, apparently unrelated to the LRA, who were
taking advantage of the situation to commit acts of banditry
against their compatriots in the region. He promised
intensified police action to deal with this banditry.

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


14. (SBU) A new regroupment center opened on schedule in
Kalehe on April 27, with an estimated 200 Mai Mai Simba
fighters appearing on the first day. Another 50 Simba
fighters and 150 from Mai Mai Kirikicho will reportedly be
ready to enter the camp by April 30. The numbers will strain
the camp's resources, as it was originally built to hold
approximately 250.


15. (SBU) MONUC and the FARDC are still awaiting promised
German government assistance to complete camp construction at
other sites in South Kivu and to purchase rations for militia
who show up for integration. Timing is critical, as MONUC is
clearly preparing to launch the active phase of Operation
Kimia II and it needs to absorb remaining militias first.

DDRRR
--------------


16. (U) MONUC Kinshasa reported that 10 heavily armed FDLR
combatants, along with 31 of their dependents, turned
themselves in to a joint MONUC/FARDC patrol on April 23-24
near Mikumbi in Masisi Territory. The group was turned over
to a DDRRR team with the goal of repatriating the group to
Rwanda.


17. (U) MONUC Kinshasa reported that since January 1, DDRRR
has repatriated 586 combatants and 1,083 dependents. Since
the beginning of the year, the average monthly repatriation
rate has been 146, four times the average monthly rate during
the same time period in 2008.

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