Caught in the Crossfire: How the Eastern DRC crisis has shaped civilian lives
UNFIB soldier on patrol. Image courtesy of MONUSCO photos via Wikimedia, © 2014, some rights reserved.
For the past 30 years the Democratic Republic of the Congo has experienced nonstop civil and political upheaval. Since the end of the Mobuto era, competing rebel groups and intervening foreign powers have ravaged the country in their bid to dominate it. Since the Second Congo war was formally concluded in 2003, the country has been in a process of reconstruction however in the eastern provinces the conflict continues. The people of Nord and Sud-Kivus experienced the brunt of successive wars, a recent Ebola outbreak and continued attacks of rebel groups like the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF).
MONUSCO APC returns from operations against the ADF. Image courtesy of MONUSCO photos via Wikimedia, © 2014, some rights reserved.
Contextually speaking the history of DRC since 1996 is extremely complex. Suffice to say that in the two major wars that were fought for domination of the country a prevailing narrative was that of external involvement. Most prominently the Rwandans became involved to destroy Hutu rebels that were being protected by Mobuto and in the Second Congo war became involved once their ally Laurent Kabila alienated them and banished their troops from the country. The reasons why countries such as Uganda, Angola, Zimbabwe and Burundi became involved are diverse ranging from regional rivalries to economic interests. In the end the character of their involvement was primarily one of exploitation, with each state backing competing rebel groups in a bid to gain political sway or pillaging the resources of the country for economic benefit.
The cost incurred upon the country and people are hard to quantify but are clearly severe with massive economic decline, death and destruction of property leaving DRC an extremely weak state. As foreign nations became involved in the conflict deepening the severity of the war, so too did issues in their own territories spill over into Congo. Rebel especially found Congo an attractive location to set up operations due to its weakness. The ADF was a militant group often associated with Islamic fundamentalism that operated in Uganda during the 1980s-2000s. In 2003 it was forced into the DRC due to pressure from the Ugandan army. Since that time they have been carrying out attacks against government forces, opposing rebel groups and civilians near the Congolese/Ugandan border especially surrounding the town of Beni
The ADF have been responsible for brutal massacres in the region attacking aid workers, UN personnel and civilians. They are believed to be responsible for a brutal attack that killed 15 Tanzanian peacekeepers and injured 44 in December 2017. The army has claimed that recent offensives have managed to capture many ADF camps but as a result there have been retaliatory attacks which has caused destruction, death and displacement of thousands. In the most recent attack 12 civilians and 1 soldier are reported to have been killed in Alungupa village near Beni. This attack comes as the continued Ebola crisis ravages the area. As doctors and civilians flee the violence the ability of medical professionals to contain the outbreak has been severely compromised. The added danger of rebel groups attacking hospitals with Ebola patients as they did in March 2019 has further intensified the issue.
The response from the people of Nord-Kivus shows how deeply the conflict and medical emergency has affected them. The people have expressed deep anger and frustration over the government’s inability to handle the situation as well as the lacking impact of UN peacekeeping operations. Protests in November 2019 over the UNs failure to protect the community, had people demanding a more effective response or departure from the region. In a recent protest, civilians in Beni set fire to a UN base as well as the Beni town hall. The UN response to protests was apparently aggressive as at least one protester was killed when soldiers fired on them. While the army, UN and affiliated militias work to combat the ADF and end the attacks the people living in areas affected are forced to leave to escape the violence.
The historic plight of north-eastern DRC seems extremely severe and yet it is largely unnoticed. Decades of war and bloodshed as well as economic and social ills have rendered the region destitute and the people frustrated with issues they face. Health crises and rebel attacks appear to be the everyday reality of people living in the war-torn area. Absent a robust solution, they can expect no better.
