Massacres continued throughout the Congo during 2003–2005. US officials are negotiating with Rwanda, Uganda, the Congo and Burundi to try and find a way of dealing with the armed rebel groups. Working in close coordination with the African Union, the EU and the UN, the US hopes to be able to reduce the amount of violence, which is estimated to be taking as many as 1,000 lives each day. Their ultimate goal is to try and bring stability and security back to the people of the Congo, something which they haven’t experienced for a long time.
In April 2003, nearly 1,000 people were massacred in the Ituri region of the Congo. The clashes between the Hema and Lendu tribes started out as a simple dispute over land but have since escalated into a far more volatile situation. When UN investigators were taken to the site of the massacre at Drodro, they saw about 20 mass graves with traces of fresh blood still visible. The victims bore the signs of tribal fighting with slashes from machetes, stab wounds and mutilation.
In May 2003, two rival groups – the Hema and Lendu tribes – fought for control in Ituri’s largest town, Bunia. After the killing spree an eerie calm hung over Bunia, with dead bodies littering the now empty streets. The rebels had left behind their trademark as blood dripped from the machete slashes, the spear thrusts and bullet wounds. Other corpses had started to decay and were being eaten by packs of wild dogs. In the central marketplace, women’s bodies littered the ground and a baby’s body – a grim reminder – lay on the main street. Two priests had been killed while praying inside a church and the remains of a burning corpse lay on the UN compound’s lawn.
The massacre began when the UN withdrew its troops in accordance with a recent peace agreement. The violence had been widely predicted and so it was no surprise when the Lendus took the town of Bunia, forcing 250,000 people to take flight. The remaining 12,000 pressed against the razor wire of the UN compound, screaming, as they tried to escape the machete-wielding militia. Women clutched their babies to their chests as they watched in horror as their families and neighbours were slayed. Many more bodies lay in front of the mud huts, which the militia had smashed to pieces. The death toll was approximately 350 people, and most of the bodies were later buried in simple, unmarked graves.
Two unarmed UN military observers were found dead about 65 km (40 miles) outside of the village. They had been mercilessly murdered and one had been disembowelled. The women, natives of Jordan and Malawi, were not even involved in the conflict – they had simply been sent there to gather information about the armed groups operating in Ituri.
Days after the massacre, the main Hema militia, the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) took control of Bunia. Their reputation was little better than the Lendu’s, as their fighters are estimated to have massacred as many as 10,000 Lendus. Child fighters of the UPC went through Bunia, looting what they could from the remaining houses and off the corpses, showing no respect whatsoever.
In July 2005, 39 civilians were murdered in the village of Ntulumamba, a village in the south Kivu region of the Congo. The victims, mainly women and children, were locked inside their huts, which were then burnt to the ground. The rebels responsible were believed to be from Rwanda, who fled to the Congo when they were accused of taking part in the genocide that left some 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus dead.
There is also considerable evidence that there were many atrocities committed against women during the Congo War. Women have been reportedly tortured, genitally maimed, raped and killed – at times disembowelled to kill a foetus along with its mother. These are the type of atrocities that have taken place out of sight of UN peacekeepers. Mass rapes were often carried out to try and demoralize their enemies, and there are reports of women being buried alive after ramming sticks into their vaginas. In addition to the mental and physical injury suffered by women, there is also the risk of pregnancy and they are particularly vulnerable to contracting HIV because their bodies are open to infection. Women have also been abused in jails and forced into sexual slavery, including a number who have been victims of intimidation.
Cannibalism has been added to the long list of atrocities that have allegedly been carried out by the tribal groups fighting in the Congo. Some of the bodies found at Bunia and other villages had been decapitated, others had their hearts, livers and lungs missing. It has been reported by witnesses that the rebels literally ripped out their victims’ hearts and ate them while they were still warm. Militiamen have allegedly grilled their victims’ bodies on spits over a fire, and two young girls were boiled alive while their mother watched on. Vital organs were said to have been cut off and used as magic charms to ward off evil spirits. In 2003, Zainabo Alfani told UN investigators that she had been forced to watch rebels kill and eat two of her children. She also said that in one corner of the camp she saw cooked flesh from bodies and another two bodies being grilled on a barbecue.
Despite the fact that the UN peacekeeping mission has stepped up its efforts to combat armed rebel groups in the Congo, the insecurity and violence continue to torment the African civilians. Today it is estimated that there are still as many as 38,000 Congolese civilians dying each month, that is about 1,250 each day, either as a direct result of violence or preventable diseases and malnutrition.
For the first time in 40 years, 18 million Congolese went to the polls on 30 July, 2006. They voted for a new president and national assembly and, in general, the voting was a peaceful and well organized affair.
Congo’s president, Joseph Kabila, was declared the winner of the elections by the Independent Electoral Commission of the Democratic Republic of Congo on 15 November, 2006, and following the results he called for calm. The final outcome was the culmination of a four-year transition process which was designed at bringing democracy to the troubled African nation after decades of dictatorship and war. However, Kabila’s rival, Jean-Pierre Bemba, released a statement saying that he was not prepared to accept the election result and his supporters disputed that the figures released were inaccurate. Election officials have rejected any claims of fraud and state the the polling was, in general, fair. The UN peacekeeping force stepped up its security for fear of renewed fighting, and it appears that the election results will do nothing to bring peace to the long-suffering people of the Congo.
Thomas Lubanga, leader of the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) militia group, is the first person to be charged of war crimes at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. The charges against him include recruitment of child soldiers, murder, torture and rape. The ICC was set up in 2002 to deal with war crimes and genocide worldwide. Lubanga was arrested in 2005 after nine Bangladeshi UN peacekeepers were killed in the volatile Ituri district. He is thought to be one of the most notorious warlords of the 21st century and, soldiers under his command, are accused not just of murder, torture and rape, but also of mutilation.