Monusco is worried that insecurity will continue in Shabunda, this vast territory in southern Kivu. Insecurity due to the activism of armed groups illustrated by attacks, looting and sexual violence in this mineral-rich forest area. This is especially the case for the village of Kigulube.
With our return correspondent from Kigulube, William basimike
In this village of about 4,000 inhabitants, women and especially young girls express their grief with caution, as the Mai-Mai fighters, a few meters away, are hiding in the forest.
Dorika, 18, was raped two years ago. “I was a student. On the way to school with my colleagues, we passed Raiya Mutomboki. They took me by force, they raped me before they stole everything they found on us. Later I realized I was pregnant.”
Like so many other villages, Kigulube was the victim of attacks and sexual violence first perpetrated by the Rwandan rebels from the FDLR between 1996 and 2010, then by local self-defense groups called “Raiya Mutomboki” after the FDLR’s departure. The current security situation worries MONUSCO. Karna Soro is his office manager in Bukavu.
“The situation is still extremely uncertain in the Shabunda area. It is also a place where armed groups participate in the exploitation of minerals that allow them to obtain the lethal means to commit their crime. We have about twenty networks for community alerts in this area and we get an average of about twenty alerts (sexual violence) per week. Recently, the warnings have focused on part of Bamuguba North on the border with northern Kivu and on the side of Kalole on the border with Maniema, he said.
Monusco says it is working hard with local authorities in southern Kivu to restore state authority to Shabunda. Despite this, the civil society in Kigulube also deplores the poor condition of the roads and especially the low military personnel to control the area and calls on the government.
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