Mercury Rising in Congo, With SA's Troops in the Firing Line
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Business Day (Johannesburg)
June 8, 2004
Posted to the web June 8, 2004
Jonathan Katzenellenbogen , International Affairs Editor
Johannesburg
The Bukavu revolt and this weekend's South African casualties have raised fears that
the peace process is faltering
THE deaths of two South African soldiers serving with the United Nations (UN)
peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo , coupled with last week's
seizure of the regional centre of Bukavu by renegade army forces , have sparked
concerns about the state of Congo's peace process.
There is no evidence yet that the two incidents are related, but they may still point
to the return of a far more uncertain and hostile environment in Congo.
As tensions rise, SA's more than 1400 troops in Congo and the same number in Burundi
could increasingly be at risk.
Until this weekend's death of two soldiers in a vehicle accident (not an ambush, as
previously reported), deaths among South African peacekeeping troops had occurred in
vehicle accidents, drownings, and a murder .
In a shooting incident last year, South African troops killed six Hutu rebels on the
outskirts of a demobilisation centre.
In Africa's Great Lakes region which includes Congo, Rwanda and Burundi every violent
incident has a high potential to become part of a wider conflict.
The Hutu-Tutsi tensions at the heart of the Rwandan genocide are present in this
region, and even minor incidents can spark ethnic conflict .
Tensions are currently rising in Congo and the peace process which SA has led in the
region is at risk of failure .
Congo President Joseph Kabila has blamed Rwanda for the seizure of Bukavu a telling
sign, since good relations between Congo and Rwanda are integral to the entire peace
process.
But indications are that the peace process in Congo is salvageable, and the efforts in
Burundi, while extremely slow, are showing incremental progress.
Furthermore, the deaths of the two South African soldiers should not affect SA's
commitment to the region.
But plans to hold elections in November will come to nothing unless peacekeeping
forces can end the seizure of Bukavu .
The renegade army commander who seized the town, BrigGen Laurent Nkunda, says he did
so because of dissatisfaction with the army's regional commander.
Nkunda has now withdrawn his troops.
South African troops were not involved in any fighting when Bukavu was seized last
week they were based in a compound in the town.
The seizure of Bukavu sparked the looting of UN offices in Kinshasa and elsewhere. Two
looters in Kinshasa were shot by UN forces. Following the looting, the UN has
withdrawn its non-essential personnel from Kinshasa.
South African troops were stationed in a vehicle compound that was looted.
The full details of the deaths of the two South African peacekeepers are still not
known. Early reports say they were in a vehicle which overturned, and that 11 others
were injured.
A South African soldier was also wounded at the weekend when an armoured car convoy
was attacked in an ambush near the eastern city of Goma .
A UN spokesperson in Kinshasa says it has not yet been established which group
ambushed the vehicle, although locals say that Interahamwe guerrillas are responsible.
Interahamwe, which means "those who work together" are made up of Hutu extremists,
some of whom were involved in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.
They have been operating in the eastern Congo since they fled their homeland and have
recruited others to their cause.
There is no evidence that the shooting near Goma was connected in anyway with the
seizure of Bukavu.
The troops who seized Bukavu were previously members of the RCD-Goma, which is
allegedly backed by Rwanda. The RCD- Goma and the Interahamwe were on opposite sides
in the conflict.
Relevant Links
Central Africa
Southern Africa
South Africa
Peacekeeping and Intervention Forces
Congo-Kinshasa
Post-Conflict Challenges
Whether the two incidents are part of wider plans to undermine the peace process is
not yet clear, but even if they are not part of deliberate plots to do so, they could
clearly have that effect.
Rising tensions and suspicion can easily place peacekeepers under extreme pressure.
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