Security situation

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has experienced several armed conflicts in recent decades that have destabilized and impaired the country’s development. Due to its vast area (the Democratic Republic of the Congo is about half the size of Europe), its inaccessibility and the multitude of local and international actors, it is not possible to make a general assessment of the security situation. It is necessary to distinguish between different regions and to evaluate them in a differentiated manner in order to be able to provide a true assessment.

Since our work in South Kivu takes place in the area between Goma and Bukavu, it is obvious that we are focusing on the eastern Congo. Nevertheless, no general statement is feasible here. The Kivu region stretches across an area of ​​124,000 square kilometers, which after all is the size of England, and has a large number of different actors, whose goals in part strongly differ from each other.

“Armed Groups in North and South Kivu”
von Congo Research Group unter CC-BY-NC-NA

First, we would like to give a brief overview of our project site Bugarula which is located east of Kalehe on the island of Idjwi. The island has never been in the focus of armed groups in eastern Congo, as we have been told on the ground, and fortunately has not been affected by conflict. Furthermore, the crime rate is significantly lower compared to that of the mainland. We ourselves could observe a strong solidarity in the population during our stays and felt safe at all times of the day. We regard the stable situation on Idjwi as particularly suitable for infrastructure projects in this region.

As a result of the long-standing presence of the UN, as well as numerous NGOs, the eastern Congo was observed in detail and events were documented. In addition to evaluating numerous reports, our analysis is based on our own experience in the Congo, as well as up-to-date information by our contact persons from the Kivu area. However, we are aware of how complex the situation is and are constantly trying to update and correct our assessments. Furthermore, the following description is intended to provide a rough overview and not to the claim of completeness. For more extensive and detailed reports, please refer to the respective sections.

In order to understand the current situation in the eastern Congo, it is important to first look at the past. For a detailed description of the history of the Congo, we refer to David Van Reybrouck’s book “Congo: The Epic History of a People” [1].

First and second Congo war

In 1994, the genocide of the Tutsi population by Hutu militias took place in neighboring Rwanda, marking a cornerstone of the first Congo war. As a result, the numerous Hutu militias involved were driven by the Ugandan Tutsi army from Rwanda across the border into eastern Congo (then Zaire). There, the struggle of the Hutu militias against the local Tutsi population continued. It formed the Tutsi militia AFDL under Laurent-Désiré Kabila, which was supported by the Ugandan and the Rwandan government. As a result of the fighting, the AFDL succeeded in 1997 with international help to overthrow Mobotu, who was president of Zaire at that time. Kabila would become the new president and rename Zaire to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Already in 1998 the fighting continued in the Congo and led to the second Congo war. Several different rebel groups tried for various reasons to overthrow the government of Kabila in the capital Kinshasa. The groupings were supported by numerous African states, which pursued their own goals. Therefore, the second Congo war is also referred to as the first African War. The result was numerous civilian casualties. For an introduction to this complex topic we refer to Wikipedia. [2] In 2002, an effective peace agreement was signed.

UN Monusco

To stabilize the Congo, the UN mission MONUC, now known as MONUSCO, was set up in 1999. With a strength of approximately 22,000 (including civilian personnel) people, this is the largest peacekeeping mission of the United Nations. In addition to the military commitment, which was reinforced in 2013 under the then missionary leader Martin Kobler by the use of a so-called intervention brigade for a more decisive action against rebel groups, the mission is also involved in peace building through civil action.

Current situation

After the end of the second Congo war, many of the rebel groups have split into numerous smaller groups. The rebel groups are often no more than 200 fighters strong [4]. Many of these groups have distanced themselves from international goals and are now acting locally. The lack of government presence, especially in rural areas, leads to a power vacuum that is often filled by rebels. They are often involved in local economic and political realities and are more interested in consolidating their own position and exploiting resources [5] than in political change. Conflicts in the region were de-escalated in 2015 from “war” to “limited war” and largely classified as “violent crises”. [6]

More than 70 armed groups are active in eastern Congo. The CRG map (first map) shows the distribution of these groupings, whereby the colored areas are not areas of influence but spheres of influence. This becomes clearer when one realizes that the rebel group is not an isolated community, but integrated into local social structures. [7]

The CRG map shows that the armed groups appear scattered in the Kivu area. Nevertheless, there are three conflict hotspots. This includes the border area between the Walikale and Masisi regions, the Rusizi plain in the south (Uvira region), and the foothills of the Ruwenzori mountain range east of Beni (North Kivu).

The region around Bukavu is especially interesting for our project work. The predominant armed grouping in the west of Bukavu are the Raia Mutomboki. They are a loose association of local fighters, which grew strongly in 2011. Originally established as a self-defense force to defend against the ongoing attacks by the FDLR rebels, the groups became more and more involved in local conflicts. They themselves became power-exploiting rebels responsible for massacring Hutu civilians. [8th]

Nevertheless, it can be said that the security situation around Bukavu is stable and can be considered for a sustainable energy project. Especially the island of Idjwi has been spared from conflicts in recent years due to its exposed location. [9]

“Armed Groups in the Eastern Congo”
von Rift Valley Insitute unter CC-BY-NC-ND

Sources:
[1] David Van Reybrouck, „Kongo: Eine Geschichte“ , ISBN 978-3-518-42307-3
[2] Wikipedia.org, „Zweiter Kongokrieg“.
[3] MONUSCO – United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
[4] Congo Research Group, „The Landscape of Armed Groups in the Eastern Congo“.
[5] Global Witness, „Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Conflict“.
[6] Heidelberger Institut für Internationale Konfliktforschung, „Conflict Barometer“.
[7] Rift Valley Institute, „The national army and armed groups in the eastern Congo“.
[8] Rift Valley Institute, „Raia Mutomboki – The Flawed Peace Process in the DRC and the Birth of an Armed Franchise“.
[9] ACLED, „Dynamic Maps and Graphs | ACLED“.