EASTERN DRC NOTES - MAY 28

UNCLAS KINSHASA 000501 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL MOPS PHUM PREF KPKO CG SUBJECT: EASTERN DRC NOTES - MAY 28 ¶1. (U) The information contained in this report consists principally of spot reports from various sources. This cable is not exhaustive, nor can all the information contained herein be confirmed at this time. Security Situation -------------- ¶2. (SBU) There have been unconfirmed reports of a LRA supply helicopter landing near Ango (towards the CAR border). MONUC military observers are investigating the reports. Separately, MONUC reported that following the May 19 clashes near Faradje between the LRA and FARDC, two LRA soldiers surrendered to the FARDC. The FARDC subsequently handed them to the UPDF for detention. MONUC also reported that the UPDF recently killed two LRA soldiers during a firefight near the village of Ganga. ¶3. (SBU) FDLR troops attacked Mulonge and Ciriba villages near Bunyakiri in South Kivu the night of May 25. According to MONUC sources and Radio Okapi, the FARDC, based nearby, responded causing the FDLR to pull back, but not before 100 houses were burned, five civilians and one FARDC soldier killed, and several civilians abducted. Thousands of villagers from the nearby villages of Mubugu, Museni, Musunguti, Mulongwe, and Bitale fled the area. Repatriation -------------- ¶4. (U) Radio Okapi reports the repatriation of 77 ex-combatants of Rwandan origin and 95 of their dependants during the month of May. These figures include both ex-FDLR and ex-CNDP members. According to MONUC, 2,197 ex-combatants and their dependants have been repatriated to Rwanda during 2009. Integration -------------- ¶5. (SBU) FARDC troops near Bunyakiri, South Kivu have complained to MONUC that newly integrated CNDP and PARECO troops are deserting in large numbers, and - disguised as FDLR - organized the recent ambush on FARDC troops in Kahuzi-Biega (Note: MONUC is skeptical on both counts, but the allegations themselves suggest significant tensions between 'old' and 'newly integrated' FARDC. End note). Amnesty Law -------------- ¶6. (U) Controversy surrounding the application of the new Amnesty Law continues. According to MONUC's Bukavu Human Rights Office, some common criminals have been granted amnesty. MONUC called on the armed groups to produce lists with those that they consider political prisoners. Separately, an umbrella NGO association in Bukavu also criticized the authorities for releasing "assassins and rapists" under the Amnesty Law. BROCK