CONFLICT BAROMETER 2008

32 Conflict Barometer 2008
fidence, separating the rebel-controlled northern part of
the country from the government-controlled south. The
UN Security Council renewed the mandate of UNOCI
twice for six further months in order to assist in the upcoming
elections. In January, France decided to downscale
its Opération Licorne, working alongside UNOCI,
from 2,400 to 1,800 troops due to the improved security
situation. From December 2007 on, UNOCI had deployed
8,033 military personnel. Due to foot-dragging
in voter registration, the Electoral Commission on April
14 set November 30 as date for the presidential elections,
originally scheduled to be held in June. In August,
a preliminary team of EU election observers arrived
in Côte d’Ivoire. Voter registration got underway on
September 15. Inter-party talks to supplement the previous
year’s Ouagadougou Accord were held on October
14. The Election Commission announced on October
20 that technical difficulties in the voter registration process
made the presidential elections in November technically
impossible and should therefore be postponed
until 2009. On October 23 and 24, the registration process
was suspended amid attacks on electoral offices.
The presidential elections on November 30 did not take
place. (sk)
DR Congo (Bundu dia Kongo)
Intensity: 4 Change: Start: 2000
Conflict parties: Bundu dia Kongo vs. government
Conflict items: autonomy, system/ideology
The conflict between the Bundu dia Kongo (Kingdom of
Kongo, BdK) movement and the government about the
political orientation of the political system in the province
of Bas-Congo escalated. BdK demanded the creation
of a political system and society based on indigenous
cultural and social values, and the resurrection of the
Kingdom of Kongo. From 2000 on, violent clashes occurred
between state security forces and BdK, peaking
in 2007 when approx. 100 people were killed in Bas-
Congo. In 2008, BdK continued to establish a parallel
judicial system under its control. At the beginning
of the year, tensions increased again when six people
were killed in clashes between security forces and BdK
in the Seke-Banza territory. On February 24, a man
accused of sorcery was burned alive by BdK followers
in Kinkenge. The next day, BdK members freed three
prisoners in Luozi. On February 28, the government
launched a massive police operation in the area, causing
violent confrontations in the municipalities of Sumbi,
Lufuku, Mbandakani, Mbata Siala, Luozi, and other locations.
Approx. 100 people were killed and 150 alleged
BdK members were arrested. On February 29, BdK followers
refused to surrender to the police forces in Luozi.
They were armed with stones, nuts, sticks, and pieces of
wood fashioned in the shape of weapons, believing that
their weaponry could be transformed, by spell or incantation,
into heavy weapons. In clashes in front of the BdK
temple, seven BdK members died. In reaction to these
incidents, a MONUC Task Force of 266 troops was deployed
to the region. On March 1, the leader of BdK, Ne
Muanda Nsemi, called for an international investigation
into recent events. The same day, police fired on BdK
members around barricades set on the main road of Lufuku,
killing at least 35 persons. On March 3, some 300
BdK members armed with stones and sticks gathered
around the temple of Sumbi. At least 36 BdK followers
were killed when special police force units opened fire.
On March 22, the government announced a ban of BdK.
A report by the MONUC Human Rights Division in May
concluded that the Congolese police had applied an excessive
use of force during the operation. This was denied
by the government. In July, the MONUC Task Force
was redeployed to Kinshasa. (rs)
DR Congo (CNDP)
Intensity: 4 Change: Start: 2004
Conflict parties: CNDP vs. government
Conflict items: regional predominance, resources, other
The conflict over regional predominance between Laurent
Nkunda’s National Congress for the Defense of the
People (CNDP) and the government continued on the
level of a severe crisis. The Congolese Armed Forces
(FARDC) were actively supported by the UN mission
MONUC. Nkunda’s forces in the Kivus belonged to the
factions of the Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD)
rebel alliance [→ DR Congo (MLC, RCD, UDPS)] that
had refused to take part in the government’s reintegration
program of 2004. CNDP justified their armed struggle
as defending the Banyamulenge ethnic group, related
to Rwandan Tutsi, against the threat presented by
Hutu militias in the eastern DR Congo [→ DR Congo (Interahamwe,
FDLR)]. In early December 2007, fighting
between the FARDC and CNDP in the area of the town
of Nyanzale in North Kivu caused approx. 40,000 people
to flee the area, adding to the 857,000 already displaced
persons in the region. Government forces also attacked
CNDP in the vicinity of the regional capital, Goma. As
a result of this fighting, delivery of humanitarian aid to
some 300,000 people was impeded. Late in December
2007, a large peace conference was scheduled, which
was supposed to be attended by approx. 1,300 representatives
of all conflict parties in the region. In the
run-up to the conference, Nkunda declared a unilateral
ceasefire on January 6, announcing that CNDP would
attend in spite of not being invited. On January 23, the
participating parties, including CNDP, signed a peace
agreement. It provided for an immediate cessation of
hostilities, disengagement of troops, creation of a buffer
zone, return of displaced persons, an amnesty for insurgents,
and for the prosecution of human rights violations.
On February 23, Nkunda boycotted the meetings of the
ceasefire monitoring group after MONUC had accused
CNDP of killing some 30 civilians during the conference.
On April 21, a timetable was agreed upon by the participants
of the peace conference, providing for the integration
of CNDP into the FARDC and the return of displaced
people. The truce was violated on several occasions.
On June 18, CNDP and FARDC clashed near
the town of Rutshuru in North Kivu, leading to the dispatch
of MONUC troops. In late August, FARDC and
CNDP clashed again in the area of Rutshuru. The situation
escalated in October when the CNDP launched
a major offensive against government forces, capturing