Does Congo confusion transform into communication chaos?
Today has been marred by Congo coverage of its most confuse way. Time to wrap up things: Yesterday saw MONUSCO’s announcement of a security zone and the concomitant (possible) first deployment of the new Force Intervention Brigade (FIB) of UN peacekeeping mission MONUSCO. A few facts to clarify a profusion of information and disinformation: The security zone … Continue reading
Is MONUSCO’s intervention brigade up to show some teeth?
This noon, MONUSCO, under its new force commander Dos Santos Cruz, MONUSCO announced a countdown of 48 hours, to end Thursday, 1 August at 4pm Goma time, for all “individuals who are not members of the national security forces and who carries a firearm” (sic!). According to the MONUSCO communiqué, a currently defined “security zone” largely includes … Continue reading
When the big ones meet… – UN Security Council on the Congo
On 25 July 2013, the recently reopened UN Security Council chamber held one of its most high-profile attended meetings on the ongoing turmoil in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. (see here for the official wrap-up press release) Announced as a “ministerial meeting”, the Security Council’s 7011th session hosted US Secretary of State John Kerry … Continue reading
M23 conflict revived on different fronts: Mutaho and the internet
After the recent events around Beni, in the so-called Grand Nord, marking a longtime suspected battlefield resurrection of Ugandan militia ADF-Nalu, also the outskirts of Goma experienced new skirmishes again. Last week, Congo news have been marked by islamist ADF rebels taking control over some parts of Beni territory, including the locality of Mbau/Kamango. Their … Continue reading
Thin-skinned quarrels: MONUSCO and humanitarian action in the Congo
(FIRST PUBLISHED BY AFRICAN ARGUMENTS AT: http://africanarguments.org/2013/07/18/thin-skinned-quarrels-monusco-and-humanitarian-action-in-the-congo-by-christoph-vogel/) Last week, medical humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF/Doctors Without Borders) published an op-ed in Congolese newspapers, underlining the need for humanitarian actors to operate in line with neutrality, impartiality, and independence – the humanitarian principles as defined by the International Committee of the Red Cross. The concrete example … Continue reading
Precarious stalemate? M23 rumours, UN brigade tippy-toe, and yet another leak
Despite rumours unfolding on an hours-basis, M23 is unlikely to re-conquer Goma within the coming days. After a longer restructuration (and probably re-recruitment) period pursuant to February’s internecine showdown, leading to Ntaganda’s defeat and subsequent surrender in Kigali, M23 seems still weakened, or overstretched at least. Recent regular incursions by FDLR and Nyatura militia into … Continue reading
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