UN forces ready to attack FDLR, as Luanda summit is called off
What you need to know:
UN forces are prepared to take part in a joint operations against FDLR elements, pending official clearance from President Joseph Kabila.
Meeting in Luanda, Angola which was supposed to take place on January 15 and 16 had been called off by Angolan President Eduardo Dos Santos.
South African President Jacob Zuma had called for the meeting which would bring together the Southern African Development Cooperation (SADC) and the International Conference for the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) to discuss the way but Rwanda had criticised the meeting as a ‘waste of time’.
A military offensive against the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) could kick off as early as this week as United Nation forces in DR Congo say they have positioned soldiers and equipment to attack rebel positions in eastern DRC.
The Special Representative of the United Secretary General and Head of the United Nations Stabilisation Mission in DRC (Monusco) Mr Martin Kobler said that the UN forces are prepared to take part in a joint operations against FDLR elements, pending official clearance from President Joseph Kabila.
“If the instruction from Kinshasa saying ‘go ahead’ came in tonight, we can go ahead tomorrow morning or even tonight,” Mr Kobler told The EastAfrican in Kigali.
The UN official said that there is a general consensus that military action remains the only option after the rebels failed to meet a January 2 deadline to voluntarily disarm and repatriate.
Mr Kobler’s remarks came after it was confirmed that the meeting in Luanda, Angola which was supposed to take place on January 15 and 16 had been called off by Angolan President Eduardo Dos Santos.
South African President Jacob Zuma had called for the meeting which would bring together the Southern African Development Cooperation (SADC) and the International Conference for the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) to discuss the way but Rwanda had criticised the meeting as a ‘waste of time’.
Through Twitter, the Spokesperson of the South African government Clayson Monyela said that the reasons for the cancellation of the meeting should be left to the Angolan government to reveal.
The Angolan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Georges Chikoti, announced on Friday that the meeting which was aimed at discussing the way forward after FDLR rebels failed to honour the six months deadline, had been called off and the matter left for the United Nations to handle, adding however that the SADC and ICGLR remain active in seeking the final solution.
The decision by Angola to call off the meeting was welcome by the Rwandan Minister of Foreign Affairs Louise Mushikiwabo, who said last week that there should be no more time for meetings or resolutions but rather military action which is long overdue.
In the wake of the announcement that the meeting had been called off, Ms Mushikiwabo commended the leadership of Angola on the matter and said that “it is time for military action, and all concerned must comply”.
“Appreciating [the] leadership of Angola on security in the Great Lakes, President Dos Santos truly cares and understands the value of regional stability,” Ms Mushikiwabo tweeted on Friday.
All set for military offensive
Following a discussion between President Kabila and UN Secretary Ban Ki-moon, a military offensive is likely to commence this week after the Congolese leader pledged the commitment of his government to rout the rebels who have been in the jungles of eastern DRC for the last 20 years.
Mr Kobler said that the operation will be conducted jointly by the UN forces and the Congolese government forces and that all has been set to begin the attack with immediate effect.
“We are militarily prepared, our troops are ready, the logistics are prepared and the joint operation command in Kiwanja has been set up. We are waiting for the greenlight from the high command and instructions from Kinshasa,” Mr Kobler said.
Mr Kobler said that the rebels failed to take advantage of the grace period they were given to disarm voluntary, and the only option remaining on the table is military action.
“They did not use the time they were given to voluntarily surrender and because of this we reached a conclusion that the time is over,” Mr Kobler said, adding that the UN forces are keen on executing their mandate which is to eliminate all negative forces operation in eastern DRC.
Kigali pessimistic
Rwanda has been pessimistic about the political will of the UN force and other regional players to take decisive action against FDLR, with Minister Mushikiwabo saying that Kigali did not support the six months deadline extension in the first place but it decided to wait and see.
Ms Mushikiwabo accused Monusco and other regional players of applying ‘delaying tactics’ in dealing with the issue of FDLR, but the head of Monusco says the claims that the UN force is not genuinely committed to engaging FDLR are not true.
“It is just not true. We have a mandate to fulfil, which is to neutralise all armed groups in DRC, including the FDLR. The FDLR is mentioned several times in our mandate. I can confirm in the strongest terms possible that we have the political will to do it,” Mr Kobler said.
He said that currently the UN force is working with humanitarian groups to ensure that collateral damaged is minimised during the impending military offensive.
Humanitarian organisations have expressed concerns that an attack on FDLR could bear severe consequences on civilian populations.
The military offensive will target locations in South Kivu inhabited by FDLR combatants estimated to be between 1, 500 and 3, 000. Senior members of the group are accused of taking part in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.