FARDC hunting down APCLS in Masisi, and what about FDLR?
After a period of conspicious calm, Masisi has (for saddening reasons) returned on the scene in February. The last weeks have been marred by stark violence and massive military activities, in particular in the territory’s southwestern parts. What happened? A brief summary analysis. As of late January, political tensions (displayed mostly along ethnic lines) have … Continue reading
Amani Festival | 14-16 February | Goma/DRC
Comme vous avez dû l’apprendre, le Festival AMANI, qui a été postposé après les évènements d’août à GOMA, aura lieu les 14, 15, 16 février 2014. Nous voulons lors de cet évènement de fête, de musique et de dance, rassembler des gens de tous les horizons, et principalement, les habitants de la région des Grands … Continue reading
Recent developments around Raia Mutomboki
Amidst military reshufflings and changes in eastern Congo’s security topography, the so-called ‘angered citizens’, Raia Mutomboki, remain one of the most complex and least understood armed configurations across North and South Kivu. Academic literature is almost non-existent and also other analyses are scarce good, leading to the ironically sad fact that an academic journal could permit … Continue reading
Dancing on the razorblades of meaningful DDR in eastern DRC
More and more weeks pass, but Congo’s new DDR efforts do not seem to move ahead. Awhile ago, I have tried to outline the main past failures and current challenges regarding sustainable demobilisation and reintegration efforts and ever since, the situation on the ground has grown more precarious. The Congolese government had finalised its new DDR … Continue reading
Without Precedent or Prejudice? UNSC Resolution 2098 and its potential implications for humanitarian space in Eastern Congo and beyond
Without Precedent or Prejudice? UNSC Resolution 2098 and its potential implications for humanitarian space in Eastern Congo and beyond This article originally appeared in the Journal of Humanitarian Assistance in January 2014, co-written with Katharine Derderian and Aurelie Ponthieu (see http://sites.tufts.edu/jha/archives/2032). It is based on three months in-depth fieldwork in North Kivu, South Kivu, and Kinshasa, … Continue reading
A new phase of imponderability for the Congo conundrum
While fake rumours about Kagame’s death made the news in Goma this week, lots of stuff is happening below the surface as the DRC enters the year 2014. As I have written a few days ago for Al Jazeera and on this site, M23’s defeat and subsequent demobilisation waves are likely not to be a panacea … Continue reading
The Landscape of Armed Groups in eastern Congo
(the cover photo of this article is a partial screenshot of the full map linked below) Two decades of armed conflict have created a complex topography in the eastern parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Current estimates by research institutions, multilateral and non-governmental organisations, and individual analysts indicate a myriad of over fifty … Continue reading
Genocide? Religious war? The inflationary use of buzzwords in CAR’s violent imbroglio
For quite some time, I have been refraining from writing about the current conflicts in the Central African Republic. There is good reason for that, given I have never done actual fieldwork in this country. However, the recent escalation of violence has brought along a dangerous escalation of narratives, similar to that we know from … Continue reading
Big Victory as M23 surrenders, but not an End to Congo’s Travails
This analysis was first published on the International Peace Institute’s Global Observatory at: http://www.theglobalobservatory.org/analysis/617-in-drc-one-militia-m23-down-49-more-to-go.html This week, almost a year after the March 23 movement (M23) briefly occupied Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a series of joint operations between the Congolese army and the UN peacekeeping mission’s intervention brigade finally led to adecisive victory over the rebel … Continue reading
Notes on the panoply of armed movements in the Congo
Given the multitude of armed groups operating in Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) eastern provinces, it is not always very easy to identify their objectives, leaders, and backers. Among numerous publications, the Rift Valley Institute’s Usalama Project provides some of the best analyses for the major groups, individuals, their history, motivations, and political reasonings. … Continue reading
suluhu.org 