The Congolese president continued his stay in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday in Beni and Butembo, northern Kivu, before landing in Bunia, Ituri. Felix Tshisekedia once again defended the besieged state established in these abused provinces. According to him, it should make it possible to put an end to the uncertainty but also to the army’s “shenanigans” in the management of the operations’ funds. In recent months, in these provinces, security forces have been accused of even more serious acts.
The UN panel of experts documented several cases of possible war crimes in its latest report on Wednesday, June 16, where the most serious probably took place in Ituri last year. The group of experts interviewed about fifty witnesses, some eyepieces, but also victims and members of the security forces. Several units are accused of committing violence, summary executions, rapes, destruction and looting of villages. These abuses targeted particularly the people of Bira and Lendu, who are considered to be close to the two main local armed groups, the FPRI (Patriotic Resistance Force of Ituri) and the Codeco (Congo Development Cooperative). On June 25, 2020, even thirteen people were executed in a village. Some of the documented cases may constitute war crimes, UN experts point out.
Paradoxically, according to this report, Codeco drew most of its weapons from the FARDC. During attacks, 172 soldiers were killed according to official statistics, 130 Kalashnikovs, grenades, rocket launchers, machine guns and even a mortar stole. But according to the expert group, other FARDC officers provided weapons to the same military. Soldiers are also said to be present in septmines d’or in the territories of Djugu, Irumu and Mambasa. Four of them had been attacked by factions from Codeco.
The 312th Battalion accused of human trafficking
Similar cases have been documented in northern Kivu. In Beni’s territory, the armed Islamist group of Ugandan origin, the ADF, largely targeted the peasants, killing hundreds and capturing hundreds more. Suddenly, cocoa fields and soldiers from the 312th Command Battalion, already mentioned in previous reports, harvested them. He is also accused of facilitating smuggling to Uganda.
In Ituri, it is still the men in this battalion under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Tipi Zéro Zéro who are alleged to be attacking gold traders. UN experts pointed out that this border country saw its exports in 2019 by 29%.
NDC-Rénové Bwira “partner” of FARDC?
In southern Kivu, Colonel Manassé of Battalion 21042 is said to have ordered his men to collect gold for 72 hours in the Misisi area. The expert group also accuses other officers of supporting armed groups, Codeco in Ituri, May-May groups in the highlands of southern Kivu or the Bwira faction in the NDC-Renové in northern Kivu. In the latter case, the expert group even found an official FARDC document citing him as a “partner”.
Note that the UN expert group took care of contacting the insulting officials. Lieutenant Colonel Tipi Zéro Zéro did not respond. Colonel Manassé denied any involvement.
In the two provinces under siege, Ituri and North Kivu, RFI had documented the presence of more than ten officers under arrest warrant from the Congolese military court for serious crimes.
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