On Sunday, 3 November 2013, 9:37, Herrn Edward Mulindwa <mulindwa@look.ca> wrote:
Success against Congo rebels may signal sea change in peacekeeping
Analysts say the blow to Congo's M23 rebels shows what a U.N. peacekeeping force and a nation can do with a different mind-set.
A Congolese soldier responds to residents' cheers as the army enters Bunagana, one of the towns retaken from M23 rebels in recent days. (Joseph Kay / Associated Press / October 30, 2013)
By Robyn Dixon
November 2, 2013, 8:00 a.m.
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — Their behavior was scandalous: Soldiers traded their guns for gold. They sexually abused children they were supposed to protect. They barricaded themselves in their barracks rather than fight.
And that unruly U.N. peacekeeping force was actually the better of the two armies fighting a notorious rebel movement in eastern Congo, scene of one of Africa's longest-running conflicts. Meantime, the Congolese army's efforts were led by rival commanders who competed for looting rights. Unpaid soldiers raped and stole with impunity. Those two forces teamed up this week to stun the M23 rebels — and many observers — with a sharp, disciplined campaign that pushed the insurgents to the brink of defeat. They still have to show they can hold the territory they've captured, even with the introduction of surveillance drones planned this month. But analysts say the success of the campaign so far shows what a United Nations force can do with strong leadership and a mandate to take offensive action. It also illustrates that even a country as unmanageable as the Democratic Republic of Congo has military leaders who can be successful if backed by political will. The lessons could be applied elsewhere in Africa, they say. "A new type of peacekeeping is being tested now," said Thierry Vircoulon, a regional analyst for the International Crisis Group think tank. "And if it's a success, that may change the whole of thinking about peacekeeping." "There is a drive for a more militaristic approach to peacekeeping in Congo, but also in other places in Africa," Vircoulon said. Intractable internal conflicts rack countries like Ivory Coast and South Sudan. A succession of rebel groups has long operated along the eastern border of Congo, many of them vestiges of the genocidal conflict two decades ago in neighboring Rwanda. Twelve leaders of M23, the latest such group, have been indicted on suspicion of war crimes by the Congolese government. Another, Bosco Ntaganda, turned himself in and is being tried by the International Criminal Court. Rwanda has always denied backing the rebels, but the U.S. slapped military sanctions on Rwanda in early October for allegedly backing M23. Analysts say things started to change late last year after M23 seized control of Goma, the main city in eastern Congo. That galvanized Congolese President Joseph Kabila and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. "The sight of U.N. peacekeepers equipped with heavy armed vehicles and sophisticated weapons really standing by as a rebel group occupied one of the largest cities in DRC was hugely embarrassing and the complete antithesis of what they were there for," said Darren Olivier, an analyst with the African Defense Review. In March, the U.N. Security Council endorsed the deployment of a 3,000-member "intervention brigade" to bolster a U.N. force that had grown to about 17,000 since it was first deployed in 1999. The U.N. force, known by the acronym MONUSCO, had a reputation for being slow and corrupt. It was dubbed #MONUSELESS by critics on Twitter. If a report came in that militias had attacked a village, the force's armed personnel carriers would take hours driving terrible roads to move into position, usually arriving after the worst was over. The new brigade was the first U.N. force in eastern Congo given a mandate to attack and destroy armed militias rather than wait for them to attack and then try to protect civilians. And it was given new leadership. German diplomat Martin Kobler became the overall head of the U.N. effort. Brazilian Gen. Carlos Alberto Dos Santos Cruz was appointed its military chief, and quickly announced he would use the most advanced technology available to crush rebel groups that for years had killed civilians, recruited child soldiers and raped women. A top officer from Tanzania, Brig. Gen. James Mwakibolwa, was chosen to lead the intervention brigade. His soldiers are from regional military powers South Africa, Tanzania and Malawi. The new unit has used extensive helicopter surveillance to track rebels and has planned and coordinated operations closely with the Congolese army, though it didn't directly participate in the fighting of recent days. Underscoring its aggressive new approach, the force plans to deploy drones this month. By May, the unmanned aircraft will fly above the steep and leafy hills of eastern Congo 24 hours a day. Analysts say that would make it much more difficult for Rwanda to provide backing for the rebels while denying any involvement. It wasn't just the United Nations that woke up after Goma fell. Kabila replaced the military leadership in eastern Congo and simplified the command structure, Olivier said. "That demonstrates that when the Congolese military establishment and president want to have effective military units, they can," Vircoulon said. "There was a strong consensus from everybody in the DRC against the M23. Even within the opposition, everybody agreed that the M23 had to be defeated." Experts say there already are signs that Rwanda is distancing itself from the rebels. When rebel commanders tried to call senior Rwandan officials to help them repel the offensive in recent days, the Rwandans weren't picking up the phone, said Jason K. Stearns on his Congo Siasa blog. He said the new U.N. approach played a major part in M23's setbacks. "Observers on the front lines reported that the Congolese soldiers were being issued military rations by the U.N., and that U.N. officers were jointly planning operations with the Congolese army. U.N. attack helicopters have been providing support, although the bulk of the fighting has been carried out by the FARDC [Congolese army]," Stearns wrote. M23 losta large swath of territory in eastern Congo, including the towns of Kibumba, Rumangabo, Rutshuru, Kiwanja and Bunagana, leaving it with only a sliver of hilly terrain along the border with Rwanda. Timo Mueller, a researcher for the Goma-based Enough Project, which campaigns against genocide and crimes against humanity, said M23's losses weren't all the result of the tough new U.N. approach. The Congolese army bore the brunt of the fighting and casualties. Olivier wrote that government forces in the region "are a far cry from the disorganized, demoralized and poorly trained soldiers who were so easily swept aside when Goma was captured in November last year." The new commander, Maj. Gen. Bahuma Ambamba, "has transformed the forces under his control, cracking down on ill discipline, improving training especially for combined operations, raising morale and earning a good reputation both amongst his soldiers and the MONUSCO forces," Olivier wrote. There were no reports of atrocities by the government forces, which used to be common, he added. Now, analysts said, they need to show they can hold territory, confront other rebel groups and reestablish government control and services. The key question, said Vircoulon, is whether the Congolese army will retain its newfound fighting prowess or slip back into its bad old habits. "The point is whether this good example can be expanded," he said. robyn.dixon@latimes.com
Thé Mulindwas Communication Group "With Yoweri Museveni and Dr. Kiiza Besigye Uganda is in anarchy" Kuungana Mulindwa Mawasiliano Kikundi "Pamoja na Yoweri Museveni na Dk. Kiiza Besigye Uganda ni katika machafuko"
Africa Realities Media is independent. Your support helps us expose injustice, challenge silence and produce evidence-based analysis on Africa and the Great Lakes Region.
Africa Realities Media offre un espace aux écrivains, chercheurs, experts, activistes, voix communautaires, militants, analystes et personnes ayant une expérience vécue qui souhaitent contribuer à des contenus réfléchis, responsables et courageux sur les changements nécessaires dans la région des Grands Lacs, ainsi que sur les réalités politiques, économiques, culturelles et sociales africaines souvent ignorées, minimisées ou mal représentées.
Nos articles et vidéos visent à ouvrir le débat, renforcer la sensibilisation, encourager la pensée critique et favoriser une réflexion plus profonde sur les réalités vécues par les populations africaines. Nous voulons aider les peuples de la région des Grands Lacs à mieux comprendre leurs droits, notamment leurs droits humains, leur droit au développement, leur droit à la dignité, à la sécurité, au bien-être et à une vie meilleure.
À travers nos contenus, nous cherchons également à rappeler aux décideurs, aux institutions publiques, aux acteurs régionaux et internationaux, ainsi qu’aux responsables politiques, leur devoir de transparence, de responsabilité et de redevabilité envers les populations qu’ils prétendent servir. Notre objectif est de contribuer à une culture de vérité, de justice, de participation citoyenne et de protection égale pour tous les peuples africains.
Why We Exist
Many abuses facing African people are committed by African states, ruling elites, armed groups, military forces and security services. But these abuses are often sustained by international silence, Western lobbying, trade interests, migration deals, mineral access, diplomatic partnerships and unequal global accountability.
Africa Realities Media exposes that system.
Lived Experience Matters
Survivors, displaced communities, refugees, families affected by repression, journalists, activists, women, young people and diaspora voices are not passive subjects. They are knowledge holders.
Their experiences must shape policy, advocacy, journalism and public debate. The people closest to injustice are often closest to the solutions.
T he FDLR Pretext Collapses Under the Weight of Documented Plunder Introduction: A Battle That Tells the Truth When Rwandan-backed RDF/M23 forces fought with extraordinary ferocity to seize and hold Rubaya — a remote mining town in North Kivu, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo — the stated justification was security. Kigali's consistent public line has been that its military presence in the DRC is a response to the threat posed by the Forces Democratiques de Liberation du Rwanda (FDLR), an armed group whose leaders include individuals linked to the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi. This narrative has been accepted, qualified, or left insufficiently challenged by Western governments and multilateral institutions for over a decade. The Battle of Rubaya strips that narrative bare. What unfolded in Rubaya was not a counter-insurgency operation against genocidal remnants. It was a sustained military campaign — reinforced by the Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF), prosecuted at sign...
http://www.inyenyerinews.org/amakuru-2/rwandas-major-john-sengati-assassinated-in-gitarama-rwanda/ Rwanda's Major John Sengati assassinated in Gitarama, Rwanda May 12, 2013 by Rwema IT Webmaster Leave a Comment By: Jennifer Fierberg Rwandans are saddened by the death of Major John Sengati who was assassinated in Gitarama (appx 50km from Kigali) on May 10th, 2013. John Sengati was a retired Major, and ADC to Gen. Kayumba Nyamwasa from 1993 to 2001. After Gen Kayumba went to UK to further his studies, Major John Sengati was appointed Commanding Officer (C.O.) of Garrison Force that was in charge of the security to VIPs under the Ministry of Defense. Around 2007, he went to study at Kigali Institute of Technology (KIST) while he was still an active member of the RDF. According to local reports , in 2009 Major Sengati's land was redistributed in Karama to local residents. Around 2010 he was forced to retire from the army, because he was considered to be loyal and ...
How Paul Kagame Uses Diplomats' "Bury Your Head in the Sand" Strategy as a Green Light to Continue Rwanda's War in the DRC Africa Realities Media | 17 July 2026 The purpose of this article is to expose a deliberate and systematic strategy: Paul Kagame's years-long practice of creating events — diplomatic dinners, RPF party meetings, genocide commemorations, international business forums and RPF Bureau Politique addresses — to which he invites foreign ambassadors and the world's business and political elite for one purpose: to explain, justify, and defend Rwanda's military invasion of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Everybody who follows this region knows the strategy now. The same narrative. The same arguments. The same defiance. At one event he tells the Trump Administration to go to hell. At the next he says those sanctioning him will leave power and he will remain. At the RPF Bureau Politique of 17 July 2026, he tells ambassadors that the on...
ANALYSIS AND INVESTIGATION Introduction: The Myth and the Man Behind the Myth There is a version of Paul Kagame that exists in the conference halls of Davos, in the pages of Western magazines, in private hotel meetings in London, Paris and Washington, and on the sleeves of European football shirts. In this version, Kagame is a visionary. A builder. A disciplined African moderniser. A leader who pulled a broken country from the ashes of genocide and turned it into what admirers often call the “Singapore of Africa”. In this version, Rwanda is clean, efficient, safe, investment-friendly and orderly. Kagame is presented as the African leader the West wants to believe in: controlled, polished, pro-market, security-focused and comfortable in elite Western spaces. Then there is the Rwanda that many Rwandans, exiles, journalists, opposition figures and human rights organisations describe. In this Rwanda, YouTubers and online commentators are jailed for what they say. Critics die in custo...
The FDLR Myth: How Rwanda Weaponises a Diminished Threat to Justify Occupation Investigation Exposes Contradictions in Rwanda's Security Narrative For over a decade, Rwanda has justified its military presence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo by citing threats from the FDLR, a Hutu militia group linked to the 1994 genocide. But an investigation into FDLR's actual capabilities, Rwanda's military operations, and patterns of violence reveals a narrative that does not match reality. The FDLR threat, whilst real, has been systematically exaggerated and manipulated to justify objectives that have nothing to do with the militia group. Introduction The Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) occupies a central position in Rwanda's justification for military intervention in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. For more than two decades, Rwandan authorities have portrayed the militia group as an existential threat requiring sustaine...
Ndabona mu bo Francois Hollande avugana n'abo Kagame wenyine niwe utarimo. Nimwisomere namwe: http://www.slate.fr/story/90909/hollande-telephone-politique-etrangere#xtor=RSS-2 From: "Samuel Desire sam4des@yahoo.com [Democracy_Human_Rights]" <Democracy_Human_Rights@yahoogroupes.fr> To: DHR <Democracy_Human_Rights@yahoogroupes.fr>; Rwandalibre Group <rwandalibre@yahoogroups.com> Sent: Tuesday, 12 August 2014, 21:08 Subject: *DHR* A qui François Hollande téléphone-t-il? Et qui reçoit-il à l'Elysée? A qui François Hollande téléphone-t-il? Et qui reçoit-il à l'Elysée? [VISUALISATION] http://www.slate.fr/story/90909/hollande-telephone-politique-etrangere#xtor=RSS-2 Envoyé par : Samuel Desire <sam4des@yahoo.com> ...
Kigali wants Washington to punish Congo too. But a ceasefire that leaves the occupier in place is not peace; it is occupation without noise. African lives are not worth less. African deaths are not normal. Western interests must never become a licence to kill African people. Introduction: A Familiar Complaint On 29 June 2026, Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Olivier Nduhungirehe, sat before the cameras of France 24 and declared that his country was “disappointed by the increasingly biased US mediation” in the conflict with the Democratic Republic of Congo. He asked why sanctions had targeted only Rwanda. He called the measures unfair, one-sided and counterproductive. Weeks earlier, President Paul Kagame had told Jeune Afrique that sanctions and threats were insults thrown at Rwanda, and accused Washington of exerting heavy pressure on Rwanda while treating the DRC more delicately. The grievance sounds reasonable until you remember where you have heard it before. Since 2022, the Kr...
This article identifies the central obstacle to accountability for Paul Kagame’s actions in Rwanda and the Great Lakes region: the powerful global network of political leaders, former presidents, diplomats, philanthropists, religious figures, businesspeople, international institutions, sporting organisations, advisers and paid lobbyists that has promoted, legitimised, defended and protected him for three decades. This is a problem-identification article. It asks why Kagame has remained internationally influential and protected despite serious and extensively documented allegations concerning Rwanda’s military actions in the Democratic Republic of Congo, political repression, extraterritorial operations, mineral exploitation and the treatment of political opponents, journalists and critics. The answer is that Kagame has built an international network that gives him political access, diplomatic protection, commercial partnerships, institutional legitimacy, favourable media coverage, ...
Kagame’s Global Protection Network: Lobbying, Silence and Western Complicity: From 1990 to 2026. More at: https://www.africarealities. com/2026/07/the-empire-of- kagames-global-friends.html
French State-Sponsored Racism Without Limits Against the Hutu in France France does not simply remember the Rwanda genocide. It owns it. For three decades, the French state has sponsored and enforced a racist political order — criminalising Hutu identity, silencing African expertise, enforcing a one-sided judicial record and reproducing the same ethnic hierarchy Belgium imposed on Rwanda under colonialism. This is not a failure of memory. It is state-sponsored racism without limits, dressed in the language of historical accountability. African lives are not worth less. African deaths are not normal. Western interests must never become a licence to kill African people. Introduction: Racism as Policy The genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda was real. Between April and July 1994, following an invasion of Rwanda launched by the RPF from Uganda on 1 October 1990, initially under the command of Major-General Fred Rwigyema and subsequently led by Paul Kagame after Rwigyema was killed ...
Africa Realities Media speaks to Africa and to the developed world. Many abuses facing African people are committed by African states and ruling elites, but they are often protected by international silence, lobbying, public relations, trade interests, migration deals and unequal global accountability. While governments pay lobbyists to present a good image abroad, ordinary African people continue to face violence, hunger, disease, poverty, repression and exclusion. We challenge the normalisation of African suffering and demand equal truth, equal justice and equal protection.
Pourquoi Africa Realities Media est différent?
Africa Realities Media s’adresse à l’Afrique et au monde développé. De nombreux abus subis par les peuples africains sont commis par des États africains et des élites dirigeantes, mais ils sont souvent protégés par le silence international, le lobbying, les relations publiques, les intérêts commerciaux, les accords migratoires et une responsabilité mondiale inégale. Tandis que des gouvernements paient des lobbyistes pour présenter une bonne image à l’étranger, des Africains ordinaires continuent de faire face à la violence, à la faim, aux maladies, à la pauvreté, à la répression et à l’exclusion. Nous contestons la normalisation de la souffrance africaine et exigeons une vérité égale, une justice égale et une protection égale.
Our work is designed to trigger debate, discomfort and action. We do not only expose injustice; we work for policy and systems change.
We want governments and institutions to address the root causes of inequality, disadvantage, discrimination, exclusion and barriers affecting African people. We believe lasting change must be shaped by people with lived experience.
Exposing Injustice in Africa
Africa Realities Media is an independent African accountability platform based in London. We report, analyse and challenge the systems that shape African suffering, silence African victims and protect abusive power.
We are not here to repeat diplomatic language. We are here to ask the questions that are often avoided: why are African deaths treated as normal? Why are African victims given less urgency? Why are governments that imprison, exclude, displace or kill their own people protected when they serve powerful international interests?
Africa Realities Media gives space to writers, researchers, experts, activists, community voices, campaigners, analysts and people with lived experience who want to contribute thoughtful, responsible and courageous content about the changes needed in the region, as well as the political, economic, cultural and social African realities that are often ignored, minimised or misrepresented.
Our articles and videos aim to encourage debate, raise awareness, stimulate critical thinking and support reflection. We seek to help people in the Great Lakes Region understand their rights to human rights, development and wellbeing, while also encouraging decision-makers to be more transparent, responsive and accountable.
Recent Posts
Appel à contributions
Sensibilisez le public aux causes qui vous tiennent à cœur. Prenez part au changement que vous souhaitez voir émerger. Aidez à combattre l'injustice partout où elle se manifeste.
Africa Realities Media accueille des articles originaux, analyses, tribunes, réflexions communautaires et commentaires fondés sur des faits concernant la région des Grands Lacs africains, ainsi que les questions liées à la justice, aux droits humains, à la gouvernance, aux conflits, à la paix, aux réfugiés, aux ressources naturelles et à la responsabilité publique en Afrique.
Nous accueillons également les annonces concernant de nouvelles ou d'anciennes publications liées à nos domaines d'intérêt. Vous pouvez annoncer gratuitement votre publication, notamment un livre, un rapport, une étude, un article académique ou tout autre travail pertinent.
Les articles doivent être rédigés en anglais ou en français et ne doivent pas dépasser 1 500 mots.
Veuillez inclure le nom complet de l'auteur, qui sera publié avec l'article s'il est accepté.
Avant de soumettre votre article, veuillez d'abord lire nos pages du site web afin de vérifier si votre article correspond à nos priorités éditoriales, à nos thèmes et à nos domaines d'intérêt.
Si vous avez un article, un commentaire ou une annonce de publication à partager avec un public plus large, veuillez l'envoyer par email à :
africarealitiesmedia@gmail.com
Nous étudierons la possibilité de publier gratuitement les articles et annonces de publications appropriés s'ils répondent à nos critères éditoriaux, notamment la pertinence, la clarté, l'originalité, l'intérêt public, le respect des communautés concernées et l'utilisation responsable des informations et des preuves.
Les articles sont publiés tels qu'ils sont soumis s'ils répondent à nos critères et à notre politique éditoriale. Nous ne procédons pas à une modification supplémentaire de votre article avant sa publication.
.
Comments
Post a Comment