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 KINSHASA 00000424 002 OF 003 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. KINSHASA 00000424 003 OF 003 GARVELINK