ANALYSING UGANDA’S MILITARY MISSION TO PACIFY EASTERN DRC
By Ignatius Bahizi, East Africa Editor – The African Gazette
It is a mission that has been long overdue, one that was welcomed by those who have borne the brunt of ADF insurgents in the region, but not very welcomed by civil society organizations. The Uganda military working with their Congolese counterparts seem to be determined regardless.
Maj. Gen. Kayanja Muhanga the commander of Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) contingent told journalists that the force was determined to defeat the terrorist, and bring back peace in North Eastern DRC.
Some of the residents in the town of Beni and surrounding villages where ADF is accused of violently murdering thousands, are happy with the joint operations. They lined up along village roads late November to welcome the UPDF in their troubled land, with hope that they may live peacefully again.
The United Nations, and other agencies have documented gruesome murders of civilians over the years. Killing with blunt objects, machetes, and kidnappings of thousands of people in that area are some of the methods used by the ADF terror group, now part of Islamic State. Thousands more have fled to Uganda for safety, while others live in Internally Displaced People’s Camps (IDPs).
ADF which started as an Islamic group fighting the Uganda government to replace its constitution with Sharia law, later moved into the forests of Mt. Rwenzori inside the neighboring country. Recent reports by the United States have linked the group to Islamic state (IS).
The Congolese people have suffered most from the actions of the Ugandan militia which occupies and controls several villages in the North Eastern DRC. The gunmen are said to have settled with their families deep in forests, and are reported to be involved in mining, and cocoa growing- for sale to support their vicious activities.
The group had been defeated on Ugandan territory in early 2000s, and had for more than a decade not posed any serious threat to Uganda’s security, until recently when bomb explosions in Kampala were attributed to it. It has also previously been accused of targeted assassinations of high-profile people in the country.
The bomb attacks in the last two months claimed lives of four civilians, and injured others, including police officers. It is these terrifying attacks, one of them in front of the parliament building, which hastened the discussions between Kampala and Kinshasa to allow the former to send her troops to pursue the militants inside DRC.
HOW THE ATTACK HAPPENED
In the wee hours of November 30th, border residents woke up to rambling sounds of fighter jets and missiles that were being fired from the Ugandan territory into the forests of mountain Rwenzori where the terror group is said to have camps. In a press statement issued thereafter by the UPDF, the force said that the targets were accurately hit.
Results of that attack have been scanty, but the Army announced some successes which include destroying some of the bases of the enemy. After ground troops started powering into the area, the army said they had managed to rescue over 30 Congolese civilians who had been captives, and also captured 34 ADF fighter.
Both UPDF and FARDC commanders have since been strengthening civil military relations by engaging in public meetings with the affected communities, and giving them some reassurances.
Previous reports and investigations have established that one of the reasons insurgents have persisted in Eastern DRC was because the different militia groups including foreign ones like ADF, have established themselves among local communities, and have built strong ties with them, especially in the trade of natural resources.
Because of the trade links with the rebels, some community members provide them with critical intelligence about efforts by the state to fight them. Intelligence sources indicate that some civilians have big Cocoa farms in inaccessible parts of the forests, which are guarded by the militants in exchange for intelligence, money, food and other items.
Some of the cash crops also belong to the insurgent group, and they rely on their civilian collaborators to take them to markets.
Top Congolese Military officers have also been accused of collaborating with several armed groups, especially the ADF. Indeed, some have previously been arrested while delivering military supplies to the group. It is these collaborators within the FARDC that have to some extent made operations against the rebels by the National Forces very difficult. The collaborators also help to locate safe routes for the insurgents, their new recruits, and supplies.
This collaboration between ADF and some officer in FARDC, which also works as a link to external supporters according to security sources, will negatively affect the joint UPDF-FARDC operations against the insurgents.
INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT TO THE JOINT OPERATIONS
According to Diplomatic sources, the European Union (EU), USA, and the UN Security Council gave a nod to Uganda’s operations in DRC, and if need be they may provide more support.
The source says that the world’s super powers are keen to witness peace in Eastern DRC, because it makes economic development sense.
This is President Museveni’s wish too, the diplomatic source adds. The Ugandan President is interested in trade between the two countries, and the region.
A few days after the joint operations began, Museveni met with the representatives of countries that compose the United Nations Security council (UNSC). He emphasized his intention to eliminate the ADF terror group, and open up that part of the DRC to trade with Uganda, and Eastern Africa.
The DRC will soon become a full member of the East African Community (EAC), and that means a much bigger market for the region, and close collaboration with other EAC member states. States like Kenya and Tanzania are also involved in efforts to bring peace in Eastern DRC. Uganda and Kenya’s manufacturing capacities have also grown. The European Union also targets the Congolese market through the EAC-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). It is therefore a wise move for all these partners to work towards peace in Eastern DRC as this is the only sure way of accessing its massive market.
OPENING UP TRADE BETWEEN EASTERN DRC AND UGANDA.
Shortly after the Uganda military launched an offensive against the ADF, Uganda’s minister of transport General Katumba Wamala travelled to the towns of Beni and Goma, where he met his Congolese counterpart Alex Gisara Muvunyi, and they launched the start of the construction of the strategic roads inside Congo linking to Uganda’s borders.
The two high ways; Mpondwe/Kasindi-Uganda border to the town of Beni, and Bunagana-Goma, according to President Museveni if tarmacked, will not only accelerate trade, but will also help pacify Eastern DRC. They will ease the mobility of security personnel, and equipment for any future operations.
DRC President Felix Tshisekedi and Museveni in June this year conducted a ground breaking ceremony for the joint infrastructural projects. Part of the responsibility of the Ugandan military on the Congolese territory is to provide security to the construction teams.
Uganda’s strategy has been welcomed by several players on the African Continent and beyond. This multifaceted approach which involves military action, Infrastructure development and building relationships between civilians and the military could be the game changer.
Eastern DRC is endowed with numerous precious minerals. However, the area lacks a developed road network, it is plagued by more than a hundred armed groups that have made orderly exploitation of the resources impossible. The militants are sustained by foreign mineral merchants, including states, who collaborate with local political, military, and business kingpins to sustain the violence as they siphon away the minerals.
When the UPDF reached DRC territory, one of the biggest hurdles to overcome was poor roads; their armored vehicles could not move. The Force therefore started by grading some roads through which military equipment could reach close to rebel positions. They have also been constructing safe water points, which are being used by the local populations.
With these benefits to the community, UPDF’s presence is trying to change locals’ attitude towards the military, and remove from them the negative ideologies that the militants have for years conditioned them to believe in. This is one of the ways of winning the war against insurgents in the area. The strategy could convince some of the other militants to turn their swords into ploughshares – use all the war weapons, and resources for economic development.
Ignatius Bahizi – Currently East Africa Editor of The African Gazette, he is a journalist of repute and an analyst of geopolitics and security of the Great lakes region of Africa. Ignatius has worked in the region for over ten years with different local and international media houses.
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