/ 5 April 2013

UN sanctions aggressive intervention in DRC

Bosco Ntaganda has led numerous rebellions and held ­positions in the Congolese army
Bosco Ntaganda has led numerous rebellions and held ­positions in the Congolese army

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is braced for the arrival of the United Nations's first "search and destroy" brigade tasked with taking on some of central Africa's most notorious armed rebel groups in the east of the country.

The UN Security Council has signed off on a new and more aggressive mandate for its mission in the DRC. It calls for offensive units to be provided by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique – this in an area seen as especially risky terrain for troops foreign to the area.

The "heady language" of the mandate has surprised many analysts, with Congo expert Jason Stearns calling it a "radical new way of interpreting the protection of civilians, from a purely reactive to an aggressive, preventative stance".

The move comes in response to the repeated humiliation of Monusco, the UN's peacekeeping mission in the DRC, which was powerless to prevent the takeover of Goma, eastern Congo's main aid and trading hub, last year by the M23 rebel group. The largest operation of its kind in the world, with 17000 personnel, Monusco is meant to keep the peace in a country as large as Western Europe.

The intervention brigade, described by one UN official as a "search and destroy" force, comprises ­artillery, special forces and three infantry battalions. In another first for the UN, the brigade will also have access to reconnaissance units, including unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones. The bold move comes after nearly a year of behind-the-scenes pushing from the African Union, led by South Africa, which wanted a stand-alone African force in eastern Congo. Diplomats said that there were serious concerns that an independent force would cause ­friction with Monusco and it remained unclear how the African force would pay for itself. Only the parlous state of the existing UN mission forced the Security Council to consider a tougher approach.

"The five permanent members of the Security Council equivocated on the issue until the fall of Goma last year," said Richard Gowan, an expert on peacekeeping with the New York-based Centre on International Co-operation. "Then the United States, France and Britain concluded that Monusco needed reinforcement to avoid further crises."

Protesting donors
The brigade will be based in Goma, a lakeside city in the shadow of live volcanoes, in the turbulent border area between the DRC, Uganda and Rwanda. Both neighbours have been accused of meddling in Congo's mineral-rich east. Rwanda has wound up much of its backing after aid cuts by protesting donors.

The Tutsi-led M23 – which has been demanding autonomy in the east and a power-sharing deal with the government of Joseph Kabila – suffered a damaging split in recent weeks. The leader of one faction, Bosco Ntaganda, fled to the US embassy in Rwanda fearing for his life after infighting. He has been transferred to The Hague, where he faces multiple counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

However, the M23 remains dug-in through a large swath of North Kivu province and has proven itself an effective fighting force. Eastern Congo is a rebel's paradise because the chain of the Virunga volcanoes offers dense forests and high peaks to retreat to. In the foothills, there are valuable mines and sprawling refugee camps to be taxed. The M23 is far from alone, with as many as a dozen armed groups operating in North and South Kivu.

The UN could also target the remaining members of the Army for the Liberation of Rwanda, which has been using eastern Congo as a base to threaten Rwanda since they were pushed across the border after the genocide in 1994. They tax artisanal miners and the lucrative illegal charcoal trade and have proved impossible to dislodge.

The groups have shifting alliances with each other and with local defence forces known as the Mai Mai. The Congolese army, which has been accused of a litany of human rights abuses including mass rapes, has often co-operated with rebel groups in order to enrich local commanders. Interfering neighbours, a mosaic of rebel groups and a corrupt and venal national army – this is the risky terrain into which the new force will deploy.

"If it suffers losses similar to those the South Africans just sustained in the Central African Republic, it may not stay on the offensive for very long," Gowan said.