Trouble continues to plague the
eastern Congo, but at the moment rising tensions in the Congo’s southern
regions has the attention of the UN and several foreign governments.
Troubles in mineral-rich Katanga province are anything but new.
Reviewing the history will help put the present trouble in context.
When the Congo became independent in 1960, Katanga
secessionists, led by Moise Tshombe, tried to carve out their own
separate country. Elisabethville (now Lubumbashi) was the center of the
Katangan resistance. The Congolese government (led by Patrice Lumumba)
regarded Tshombe as a Belgian proxy and claimed that Belgium wanted an
independent Katanga so it could continue to control the province’s
mineral deposits. The commercial deposits include cobalt, copper, zinc,
cadmium, uranium, germanium, and manganese. America’s World War II
atomic bombs used Congolese uranium. Katanga also has coal mines. The
Katangan secessionist struggle and general chaos spreading throughout
Congo sparked a UN intervention (ONUC, UN Operation in Congo). UN forces
eventually clashed with the defense force Tshombe created with the help
of Belgian advisers and the Katangan Gendarmerie. Tshombe’s Katanga
government conceded defeat in January 1963.
However, the hard-core
Katangan separatists did not disappear. In 1977 and again in 1978, a
group called the National Front for the Liberation of the Congo (FNLC)
invaded Katanga from bases in Angola. Organized by a former Katangan
Gendarmerie officer in 1967, the FNLC styled itself as an anti-Mobutu
political and military force. Many FNLC fighters were former Katangan
gendarmes.
Dictator Mobutu Sese Seko ran the Congolese government from
1965 to 1997. In 1972 Mobutu had Katanga renamed Shaba. The 1977 and
1978 invasions are usually referred to as the Shaba invasions. After
Mobutu’s death in 1997, the province became Katanga again. The 1978
invasion (Shaba 2) was particularly violent. FNLC guerrillas plundered
the mining complex at Kolwezi and committed atrocities against civilians
(Congolese and foreign) who worked in the mines. Defeating both
invasions required international military intervention. The 1978
international intervention included a spectacular combat parachute drop
by a French Foreign Legion airborne infantry unit.
The Congo War of 1996-1997 led to the collapse of Mobutu’s
regime. In late spring 1997, forces loyal to rebel leader Laurent
Kabila (a Katangan and father of the current Congolese president, Joseph
Kabila) seized Lubumbashi and threatened the Congo’s capital,
Kinshasha. Lubumbashi is the Congo’s second largest city (after
Kinshasha) and is the hub of the Congo’s lucrative mining business. In
some respects (such as clout with the global economy), controlling
Lubumbashi is more important than controlling Kinshasha. Thanks to the
mines, the city has railroad links to both the Atlantic and Indian
Oceans.
During The Great Congo War (1998-2003), pro-Kabila forces
managed to keep Katanga’s key cities and mining areas under their
control. Control is a loose term. Zimbabwe, which sent forces to help
Kabila defend the area, was allegedly paid off with train-loads of
Katangan copper and cobalt ore.
During the war and in its aftermath, Mai-Mai militias savaged
parts of northern Katanga. Katanga has a north-south split. The mining
areas in southern Katanga are rich and comparatively well-developed.
Northern Katanga, however, is very poor and undeveloped. Its forests and
jungles have few roads – so the area is ideal territory for a militia
to carve out its own private duchy.
In KiSwahili, mai (mayi) means water. Supposedly, Mai Mai
fighters could spray themselves with a magic potion to deflect bullets.
The Mai Mai militias operating in the eastern Congo have proved to be a
decidedly mixed bag. The term was supposed to indicate an autonomous
militia organized to oppose imperialist or foreign (ie, non-Congolese)
force invading Congolese territory. In fact, Laurent Kabila formed and
supplied several Mai Mai militias in northern Katanga for the express
purpose of opposing invading Rwandan forces. Well, magic water does not
work as well as a bulletproof vest.
The Mai Mai militia concept has not
worked out well, either. As time passed, in the eastern Congo “Mai Mai
militia” has come to mean an armed group which portrays itself
(depending on the situation) as either a rebel guerrilla movement or a
local para-military defense force but in reality operates as a
paramilitary gang loyal to its own commander. In turn, eastern Congo Mai
Mai militia commanders (gang leaders) are expected to provide loyal
militiamen with access to money, women and banana beer.
The war and the continuing chaos damaged several Katangan
mining operations. Mining output began to pick up in 2006 and 2007. It
accelerated in 2010 and 2011. China has invested heavily in Katanga. One
source claimed that Chinese companies own 60 of Katanga’s 75 processing
plants and that China buys approximately 90 percent of Katanga’s
mineral exports.
In May 2010, a militia group calling itself the Kata Katanga
raised its flag in one of Lubumbashi’s main squares. In KiSwahili, Kata
Katanga means “carve out Katanga” (as in separate it from Congo).
On September 7, 2010 an armed group attacked Lubumbashi’s main
prison. Over 900 inmates escaped, including the leader of what was
arguably the most dangerous of the north Katangan Mai Mai militias,
Kyungu Mutanga. Mutanga, better known by his nom de guerre, Gedeon, was
imprisoned for war crimes (committed in Katanga) in 2006 and sentenced
to death in 2009. The Gedeon militia was based in what was called
Katanga’s Terror Triangle, 10,000 square kilometers of jungle within the
triangle formed by three cities, Mitwaba, Pweto and Manono (the
hometown of President Joseph Kabila.) Mutanga’s criminal force would
attack, pillage and burn unprotected villages anywhere inside or within
marching distance of the triangle.
In 2011, reports of rogue militia activity in northern Katanga
(especially along Katanga’s Zambian border) became more frequent. The
Gedeon militia figured prominently in the reports. The Kata Katanga
showed up and were reportedly allies of Mutanga. In fact, there were
reports that the Gedeon militia and Kata Katanga were now one in the
same. Lubumbashi’s international airport suffered sporadic attacks
attributed to separatist rebels.
In January 2013 the governor of Katanga asked MONU.S.CO (UN
Stabilization Mission in Congo) to send peacekeeping troops to assist
the Congolese Army in protecting the Zambian border region, The concern
was that Mutanga would try to replicate what M23 had done in North Kivu
province – carve out a piece of border territory and hold it. In
February, authorities reported a militia killed 14 civilians near
Manono.
On March 23, 2013 300 to 350 Kata Katanga fighters attacked
Lubumbashi. They tried to seize the provincial government and parliament
buildings but failed. They did manage to enter and take effective
control of the UN compound in the city. The Congolese Army, reinforced
by members of the elite Republican Guard (special presidential guards
who were protecting the airport), counter-attacked. 35 people died and
another 60 were wounded in the battles within the city. The militiamen
were not well armed. The entire force may have had only three dozen
AK-47s and a few rocket launchers. Most of the fighters carried knives,
spears or bows and arrows. A total of 245 militiamen in the UN compound
surrendered to the UN. MONU.S.CO later transferred the 245 fighters to
Congolese government control.
There is little overt public support for secession, at least
in southern Katanga. There are, however, two committed secessionist
organizations, Co-ordination for a Referendum on Self-Determination for
Katanga (CORAK) and the Katangese People’s Congress (CPK). The CPK has
been active for decades. In 1992 it sought official recognition from the
Organization of African Unity (OAU, the African Union’s predecessor) as
a Katangan liberation movement. The OAU denied recognition and said the
CPK could not show that the Katangan people were suffering mass human
rights violations by the government (then led by Mobutu).
After the March 23 attack the Kabila government and the
Katanga provincial government both assured international mining
companies that Katanga was safe. However, the attack into the heart of
Lubumbashi has, for good reason, produced many doubters. The Kata
Katanga are now claiming they are fighting for Katangan autonomy (April
19). The latest rumor is that many Katangans believe Joseph Kabila will
not be president after the 2016 elections. That means they have
concluded that a Katangan will not be in charge in Kinshasha. Katangan
secession might be an old idea whose new time has almost come. (Austin
Bay)
April 19, 2013: A spokesman for the Kata Katanga militia
announced that the group is guerrilla movement fighting for Katangan
autonomy. According to militia leaders, the people of Katanga province
do not benefit from their own mineral wealth. The spokesman accused the
national government of stealing Katangan mining royalty money.
April 18, 2013: The Congolese government and the provincial
government of Katanga remain at loggerheads over a government ban on
exporting copper and cobalt concentrates. Katanga is Congo’s only copper
and cobalt exporter. The Congolese government contends the ban will
force mining companies to process ores in Congo. This will increase the
value of Congolese copper and cobalt exports. Several international
mining companies have objected to the ban. However, the most important
resistance is coming from Katanga where governor Moise Katumbi said he
will not enforce the national ban. Katanga does not have sufficient
electricity and processing capacity to process all of its ore into
concentrate. At the moment companies have three months to sell
unprocessed ore.
April 16, 2013: The UN reported that the men who have been
accused of raping 126 women in the village of Minova (North Kivu
province) in November 2012 were serving in a Congolese Army battalion
trained by the U.S.. The battalion was a light infantry battalion of 750
soldiers who received training by U.S. AFRICOM as part of a Congolese
Army reform program. According to UN investigators, 33 soldiers
participated in the rapes.
April 13, 2013: The UN announced that the intervention brigade
which will fight armed groups in the eastern Congo will deploy 3,069
soldiers. The UN Security Council approved the unit on March 28 and gave
it the mandate of conducting targeted offensive operations – which is
diplo-speak for offensive combat. Malawi, Tanzania and South Africa will
each provide battalions with 850 soldiers (2,550 soldiers). The
remaining authorized 519 troops will serve in three separate companies:
an artillery battery, a special forces company and a recon company. A
Tanzanian general will command the unit.
April 5, 2013: The U.S. government has offered a reward of $5
million for information leading to the arrest of Sylvestre Mudacumura,
commander of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR).
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has charged Mudacumura with
crimes against humanity and war crimes. He allegedly played a major role
in carrying out the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
March 31, 2013: Sultani Makenga, the surviving leader of M23,
may be cutting a deal with the Congolese government. Uganda is
facilitating peace talks between Makenga’s faction and the Kabila
government. According to Ugandan sources, the Congo will allow 1,500 M23
fighters to join its security forces. However, M23 officers must be
vetted and will only be allowed to join on an individual basis depending
on their human rights. Makenga will not be allowed to join.
March 28, 2013: The UN Security Council approved the creation
of an intervention brigade for deployment in Congo’s eastern provinces.
The unit will be allowed to conduct independent offensive operations or
offensive operations with the Congolese Army. The goal of these
offensive operations is to neutralize and disarm militant groups. This
is the first UN peacekeeping force to have such a specifically offensive
mission and the Security Council said that its creation will not be
regarded as a precedent. The unit will serve for one year.
March 27, 2013: More information is appearing regarding Bosco
Ntaganda’s surrender. U.S. intelligence officers helped arrange
Ntaganda’s surrender at the U.S. Embassy in Kigali, Rwanda. Some 700
fighters in Ntaganda’s M23 faction have also surrendered. However, the
Congo’s war with M23 is not over. Sultani Makenga’s faction, however,
remains in the field. Makenga’s faction (which is now the only existing
M23 group active) is occupying a position just outside the capital of
North Kivu province, Goma. However, Uganda has reportedly organized
negotiations between Makenga and the Congolese government.
March 25, 2013: The Congolese government reported that the
March 22 attack on Lubumbashi had been defeated. The attack did not
hinder mining operations in Katanga. Officials did concede that the
attack was embarrassing.
March 23, 2013: 300 Kata Katanga militiamen have attacked
Lubumbashi, the capital of Katanga province. Fighting is reported
inside the city and near the UN compound.
March 18, 2013: Bosco Ntaganda, the rebel Congolese general
who formed the M23 rebel movement, has surrendered. Ntaganda went to the
U.S. Embassy in Rwanda (in Kigali) and said he was turning himself in
to the International Criminal Court.
March 11, 2013: The Congolese government has formally agreed
to support the UN’s Peace Security and Cooperation Framework. A
spokesman for M23 said that the rebel group would not support the
agreement because it was not included in the negotiation process.
March 8, 2013: The Congolese Army reported that it has been
fighting for over a week with a rebel militia in the Kitchanga area
(North Kivu province). The rebel group is named the Alliance of Patriots
for a Free and Sovereign Congo. The UN has provided attack helicopter
support to the Congolese Army. The fighting has killed at least 80
people.
March 3, 2013: Relief agencies in Katanga Province report that
separatist militia groups usually based in northern Katanga are now
regularly seen in southern Katanga.
March 2, 2013: The UN reported that Congolese Army units are
now returning to the towns of Rutshuru and Kiwanha. M23 rebels have
pulled out of the area following confirmation that the organization has
indeed split into two factions. Apparently the faction controlled by
M23 military commander Sultani Makenga has won the power struggle. The
losing faction, led by Bosco Ntaganda (who organized M23) and political
leader Jean-Marie Runiga has scattered. Ntaganda is reportedly hiding in
the Congo’s Virunga National Park.
March 1, 2013: The UN estimated that in 2005 over 45,000 women were raped in the Congo’s South Kivu province.
February 25, 2013: Two rival factions of M23 reportedly fired
on one another. The clash occurred in the town of Rutshuru (North Kivu
province, Ugandan border). Eight people died in the incident. M23 has
split into two main groups, one loyal to political leader Jean-Marie
Runiga and the other to M23’s senior military commander, Sultani
Makenga. M23 denied the incident occurred and said the firefight was
with an FDLR militia group.
February 24, 2013: Representatives of 11 Central African
countries announced that they have reached an agreement to support the
UN’s Peace Security and Cooperation Framework. The framework provides
security and economic mechanisms for building peace in the region. The
countries include South Sudan, Angola, Rwanda, Uganda, Mozambique,
Tanzania, South Africa, Central African Republic, Zambia, Congo and the
Congo Republic (Brazzaville). The framework agreement is designed to
help countries combat rebel organizations like the Congo’s M23 group.
February 20, 2013: The UN is continuing to investigate the
source of a false report that claimed that the Rwandan FDLR Hutu
extremist militia group had a battalion which was operating with the
Congolese Army and MONU.S.CO peacekeepers. The claim was made in January
and a fake email, attributed to a MONU.S.CO officer, appeared on the
internet. MONU.S.CO denounced the email as a fraud and called it
misinformation. Leaders of the FDLR were involved in the 1994 Rwandan
genocide.
February 19, 2013: The UN once again claimed that the M23
militia is receiving support from external sources. A recent UN
investigatory report said that Uganda and Rwanda both provided M23 with
material support.
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