Is Congo’s Ituri region a threat to Uganda’s security?
Mar 04, 2003
The news that Brig. Kale Kayihura was detained in Bunia town by Congolese rebel leader Thomas Lubanga was not surprising <br>I was in Bunia a week before Kayihura and the impression I got was that Lubanga's Union of Patriotic Congolese (UPC) rebels and the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) wo
By Asuman Bisiika In Bunia
The news that Brig. Kale Kayihura was detained in Bunia town by Congolese rebel leader Thomas Lubanga was not surprising
I was in Bunia a week before Kayihura and the impression I got was that Lubanga's Union of Patriotic Congolese (UPC) rebels and the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) would soon clash.
What we have in the Ituri region is a non-ideological rebellion. Kayihura is not a run-of-the-mill Ugandan. He is a Brigadier of a national army and a personal assistant to President Yoweri Museveni. So the audacity with which Lubanga acted in detaining Kayihura said a lot.
According to the way things are, the Uganda government may have to do something drastic, otherwise what is taking place in Ituri region is not conducive for our national security.
Since its creation, the Ituri region has always been at the centre of controversy; first over its illegal creation; then over the continuous rivalry among rebel groups trying to take control of the region; and now reports of cannibalism practiced by the rebels.
Right now, Ituri is the only part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where armed groups are still involved in a military contest for supremacy after the Pretoria Cease-fire Agreement.
Lubanga’s UPC, which is now the dominant force in the region, is administering and policing Ituri region. But other than collecting customs duty and other taxes, the UPC administration is ineffective to say the least. Areas like Boga (lower Ituri), bordering Bundibugyo District seem to be under the unaccountable control of Lendu militiamen and other armed groups.
The Lendu militiamen and Lubanga’s UPC administration are hostile to Uganda. Lubanga’s UPC has signed a co-operation pact with the RDC-Goma rebel faction. This of course increases the strategic importance of the entire Ituri region to Uganda’s security, as RCD-Goma is also hostile to Uganda.
Local leaders in Bundibugyo District say that the Lendu militia are now well armed and have a very big swathe of lower Ituri under their control.
Locals also say the UPC has deployed two coys (companies) of soldiers in Kyabwohe just opposite Kayanja and Rwamabale on the Ugandan side of the border. Residents in Kayanja and Rwamabale told The New Vision that the UPC soldiers in Kyabwohe are hostile to Ugandans.
“The UPC soldiers in Kyabwohe are very hostile to us. Six Ugandans were abducted. Their fishing boats on River Semuliki were confiscated. We are living in fear of these soldiers across the river,†says an LC official in Rwamabale.
An army officer with the specialised Alpine Brigade confirmed the wananchi’s information on February 27.
“Yes, we know that the UPC has about 150 soldiers deployed in Kyabwohe in the DRC. And we know that these soldiers have some elements who are not Congolese. I think the commander of the company may not be Congolese,†says the Alpine Brigade officer.
At Kasenyi Landing Site in the DRC, there are UPC soldiers and officers who speak Kinyarwanda and claim to be Banyamulenge. In short, the whole of the DRC’s eastern frontier bordering Uganda is under the influence of armed groups who are not friendly to Uganda.
But the big question is: Is there a Ugandan rebel group operating in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo? Or is a Ugandan rebel group responsible for the cattle raids in Bundibugyo? The answer is ‘Yes’ and ‘No.’
Yes, because it an open secret in Bunia town that there is a Ugandan rebel group in Ituri region; and No, because the UPDF say there is no Ugandan rebel group operating in Ituri. Otherwise, residents say that some of the people selling cattle in Bunia (allegedly stolen from Rwebisengo in Bundibugyo), are Ugandans.
The taxi driver I hired to take me around Bunia town told me that there is a contingent of Ugandans who were coming to fight the UPDF in Bunia town.
He said Lubanga’s rebels are preparing for a showdown with the UPDF and that he has enlisted the support of Jean Pierre Bemba’s MLC and RCD-Goma and that a Ugandan rebel group will also fight on Lubanga’s side against the UPDF.
The general mood in Bunia is one of apprehension. The residents think that the UPC is planing to fight the UPDF contingent in Bunia town.
Lubanga is allegedly accusing the UPDF of planning to team up with Congolese government forces to dislodge the UPC from Ituri region.
Lubanga cites the recent meeting between President Museveni and Congolese president Joseph Kabila in Tanzania, as the beginning of a co-operation aimed at dislodging the UPC from Ituri.
A Bunia businessman who buys merchandise from Kampala says clashes similar to those that took place in Kisangani are likely to take place.
“Thomas Lubanga now has the support of Jean Bemba and the RCD-Goma. This has made him feel great. He has told the UPDF to leave Ituri region. Lubanga is being urged by RCD-Goma to chase the UPDF,†said the businessman.
Information from Rwanda indicates that the RCD-Goma and Jean Pierre Bemba’s MLC are now co-operating at top level. Indeed, there has been a pattern where the MLC and RCD-Goma co-operate to fight small rebel groups, thus destabilising the region.
This has created the fear that the two dominant rebel groups may feel strong enough to be tempted to take Kinshasa by force, or that this strength may be used negatively when it is incorporated in the government forces of the transitional government in Kinshasa.
What can the UPDF do? From a strategic point of view, the situation on the Ugandan border in Bundibugyo is tricky. River Lamya forms the border in the mountain areas while the relatively wide and deep River Semuliki forms the border in the on lowlands.
These rivers would complicate a pre-emptive UPDF attack on the hostile units near the border or at their training grounds. In the case of a ‘withdraw under fire’ scenario, the rivers would be a very big menace. Of course, the UPDF being a government force has its operational limitations in Congo now. They cannot just plunge into an attack on the rebels in Congo without first calculating the diplomatic consequences. But the UPDF will have to choose the lesser evil, otherwise those hostile units near our border are a weak point in our national security.
There are also fears that the cattle raids in Rwebisengo are a ruse to draw the UPDF away from the mountain areas in Bundibugyo, where a rebel group may launch its invasion into Uganda.
The UPDF should therefore increase its deployment in the former ADF barracks at Kabango and Kidedeyi in Bundibugyo.Ends
The news that Brig. Kale Kayihura was detained in Bunia town by Congolese rebel leader Thomas Lubanga was not surprising
I was in Bunia a week before Kayihura and the impression I got was that Lubanga's Union of Patriotic Congolese (UPC) rebels and the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) would soon clash.
What we have in the Ituri region is a non-ideological rebellion. Kayihura is not a run-of-the-mill Ugandan. He is a Brigadier of a national army and a personal assistant to President Yoweri Museveni. So the audacity with which Lubanga acted in detaining Kayihura said a lot.
According to the way things are, the Uganda government may have to do something drastic, otherwise what is taking place in Ituri region is not conducive for our national security.
Since its creation, the Ituri region has always been at the centre of controversy; first over its illegal creation; then over the continuous rivalry among rebel groups trying to take control of the region; and now reports of cannibalism practiced by the rebels.
Right now, Ituri is the only part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where armed groups are still involved in a military contest for supremacy after the Pretoria Cease-fire Agreement.
Lubanga’s UPC, which is now the dominant force in the region, is administering and policing Ituri region. But other than collecting customs duty and other taxes, the UPC administration is ineffective to say the least. Areas like Boga (lower Ituri), bordering Bundibugyo District seem to be under the unaccountable control of Lendu militiamen and other armed groups.
The Lendu militiamen and Lubanga’s UPC administration are hostile to Uganda. Lubanga’s UPC has signed a co-operation pact with the RDC-Goma rebel faction. This of course increases the strategic importance of the entire Ituri region to Uganda’s security, as RCD-Goma is also hostile to Uganda.
Local leaders in Bundibugyo District say that the Lendu militia are now well armed and have a very big swathe of lower Ituri under their control.
Locals also say the UPC has deployed two coys (companies) of soldiers in Kyabwohe just opposite Kayanja and Rwamabale on the Ugandan side of the border. Residents in Kayanja and Rwamabale told The New Vision that the UPC soldiers in Kyabwohe are hostile to Ugandans.
“The UPC soldiers in Kyabwohe are very hostile to us. Six Ugandans were abducted. Their fishing boats on River Semuliki were confiscated. We are living in fear of these soldiers across the river,†says an LC official in Rwamabale.
An army officer with the specialised Alpine Brigade confirmed the wananchi’s information on February 27.
“Yes, we know that the UPC has about 150 soldiers deployed in Kyabwohe in the DRC. And we know that these soldiers have some elements who are not Congolese. I think the commander of the company may not be Congolese,†says the Alpine Brigade officer.
At Kasenyi Landing Site in the DRC, there are UPC soldiers and officers who speak Kinyarwanda and claim to be Banyamulenge. In short, the whole of the DRC’s eastern frontier bordering Uganda is under the influence of armed groups who are not friendly to Uganda.
But the big question is: Is there a Ugandan rebel group operating in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo? Or is a Ugandan rebel group responsible for the cattle raids in Bundibugyo? The answer is ‘Yes’ and ‘No.’
Yes, because it an open secret in Bunia town that there is a Ugandan rebel group in Ituri region; and No, because the UPDF say there is no Ugandan rebel group operating in Ituri. Otherwise, residents say that some of the people selling cattle in Bunia (allegedly stolen from Rwebisengo in Bundibugyo), are Ugandans.
The taxi driver I hired to take me around Bunia town told me that there is a contingent of Ugandans who were coming to fight the UPDF in Bunia town.
He said Lubanga’s rebels are preparing for a showdown with the UPDF and that he has enlisted the support of Jean Pierre Bemba’s MLC and RCD-Goma and that a Ugandan rebel group will also fight on Lubanga’s side against the UPDF.
The general mood in Bunia is one of apprehension. The residents think that the UPC is planing to fight the UPDF contingent in Bunia town.
Lubanga is allegedly accusing the UPDF of planning to team up with Congolese government forces to dislodge the UPC from Ituri region.
Lubanga cites the recent meeting between President Museveni and Congolese president Joseph Kabila in Tanzania, as the beginning of a co-operation aimed at dislodging the UPC from Ituri.
A Bunia businessman who buys merchandise from Kampala says clashes similar to those that took place in Kisangani are likely to take place.
“Thomas Lubanga now has the support of Jean Bemba and the RCD-Goma. This has made him feel great. He has told the UPDF to leave Ituri region. Lubanga is being urged by RCD-Goma to chase the UPDF,†said the businessman.
Information from Rwanda indicates that the RCD-Goma and Jean Pierre Bemba’s MLC are now co-operating at top level. Indeed, there has been a pattern where the MLC and RCD-Goma co-operate to fight small rebel groups, thus destabilising the region.
This has created the fear that the two dominant rebel groups may feel strong enough to be tempted to take Kinshasa by force, or that this strength may be used negatively when it is incorporated in the government forces of the transitional government in Kinshasa.
What can the UPDF do? From a strategic point of view, the situation on the Ugandan border in Bundibugyo is tricky. River Lamya forms the border in the mountain areas while the relatively wide and deep River Semuliki forms the border in the on lowlands.
These rivers would complicate a pre-emptive UPDF attack on the hostile units near the border or at their training grounds. In the case of a ‘withdraw under fire’ scenario, the rivers would be a very big menace. Of course, the UPDF being a government force has its operational limitations in Congo now. They cannot just plunge into an attack on the rebels in Congo without first calculating the diplomatic consequences. But the UPDF will have to choose the lesser evil, otherwise those hostile units near our border are a weak point in our national security.
There are also fears that the cattle raids in Rwebisengo are a ruse to draw the UPDF away from the mountain areas in Bundibugyo, where a rebel group may launch its invasion into Uganda.
The UPDF should therefore increase its deployment in the former ADF barracks at Kabango and Kidedeyi in Bundibugyo.Ends