Uneasy Peace Holding in Congo
Paul Harris | 19.05.2003 04:22
It is strongly suspected that Rwanda and Uganda have fanned the flames of a centuries old rivalry that arises more from the conflict between pastoral and ranching communities than from ethnicity. The two countries are accused of exploiting the natural resources of DRC in the shadow of the ethnic battles.
TORONTO (NFTF.org) -- There were reports Saturday and Sunday of sporadic fighting in the city of Bunia in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) (Background Report) despite the truce reached between the Hema and Lendu on Friday. However, the peace appears to be holding. The United Nations has relocated some peacekeepers from elsewhere in the country to bolster the forces around Bunia and steps are underway for a larger contingent of troops from Bangladesh.
Residents who fled the fighting last week have begun to return to their homes.
At the U.N., the Security Council called for a permanent end to the fighting and France has led the way with offers of peacekeeping troops to be dispatched to the area. However, at least one of the ethnic groups fighting in DRC would consider the French to be a hostile force and would likely engage them. As well, the sentiments of Uganda and Rwanda must be considered; they supported opposing rebel groups during DRC's five year civil war and the Rwandans are still unhappy with France for sending troops to Rwanda in 1994 to defend Hutus against massacre by Tutsis. The Rwandan government is dominated by Tutsis.
As a new euphemism for mass murder enters the vocabulary -- "nettoyage" (French for cleaning) -- the finger-pointing is also beginning. The majority Lendu tribe is known to have murdered many of the minority Hema group in the past several months but the two sides have been much more evenly matched over the past two weeks of fighting for control of Bunia. There are accusations of body mutilations, cannibalism, and cooking of Pygmies.
It is strongly suspected that Rwanda and Uganda have fanned the flames of a centuries old rivalry that arises more from the conflict between pastoral and ranching communities than from ethnicity. The two countries are accused of exploiting the natural resources of DRC in the shadow of the ethnic battles. Both nations deny any involvement although U.N. sources say they both have military intelligence officers in the area vying for influence.
YellowTimes.org correspondent Paul Harris drafted this report.
Residents who fled the fighting last week have begun to return to their homes.
At the U.N., the Security Council called for a permanent end to the fighting and France has led the way with offers of peacekeeping troops to be dispatched to the area. However, at least one of the ethnic groups fighting in DRC would consider the French to be a hostile force and would likely engage them. As well, the sentiments of Uganda and Rwanda must be considered; they supported opposing rebel groups during DRC's five year civil war and the Rwandans are still unhappy with France for sending troops to Rwanda in 1994 to defend Hutus against massacre by Tutsis. The Rwandan government is dominated by Tutsis.
As a new euphemism for mass murder enters the vocabulary -- "nettoyage" (French for cleaning) -- the finger-pointing is also beginning. The majority Lendu tribe is known to have murdered many of the minority Hema group in the past several months but the two sides have been much more evenly matched over the past two weeks of fighting for control of Bunia. There are accusations of body mutilations, cannibalism, and cooking of Pygmies.
It is strongly suspected that Rwanda and Uganda have fanned the flames of a centuries old rivalry that arises more from the conflict between pastoral and ranching communities than from ethnicity. The two countries are accused of exploiting the natural resources of DRC in the shadow of the ethnic battles. Both nations deny any involvement although U.N. sources say they both have military intelligence officers in the area vying for influence.
YellowTimes.org correspondent Paul Harris drafted this report.
Paul Harris
Homepage:
www.NewsFromTheFront.org