United Nations Peacekeepers patrol Butembo in North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to ensure the security of local communities (UN Photo/Martine Perret)
By Gary Raynaldo – DIPLOMATIC TIMES
UNITED NATIONS – NEW YORK – Three UN peacekeepers and 15 protestors were killed in a surge of violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo this week. The violence stemmed from attacks directed at UN peacekeepers serving in the Stablization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). The deadly attacks took place during violent demonstrations at the mission’s base on Tuesday. The violence targeted multiple UN bases across North Kivu province in which individuals and groups forcibly entered bases and engaged in looting and destruction of UN property, while also looting and setting fire to the residences of UN personnel. Protestors stormed the MONUSCO headquarters and supply base in Goma, the chief city in North Kivu province. Two Indian police officers and a Moroccan ‘blue helmet’ were killed, and an Egyptian police officer injured, according to the UN. In a tweet, MONUSCO said on Wednesday that protesters had “violently snatched weapons” from Congolese police and fired at peacekeeping forces. The UN Secretary-General António Guterres strongly condemned the attack on peacekeepers.
“The Secretary-General strongly condemns the fatal attack on peacekeepers serving in the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) on 26 July in Butembo, North Kivu province. The Secretary-General regrets the loss of life of demonstrators in this context and affirms MONUSCO’s commitment to work with the Congolese authorities to investigate these incidents. He underscores that any attack directed against United Nations peacekeepers may constitute a war crime and calls upon the Congolese authorities to investigate these incidents and swiftly bring those responsible to justice.”
-Farhan Haq, deputy U.N. spokesman, said at a briefing in New York
MILLIONS Displaced By Surge in Violence in DR CONGO
Millions have been displaced by violence in recent years, with 97 civilians killed just last month alone in attacks across eastern DRC, that included abductions, looting and burning of homes, according to UN refugee agency UNHCR. Rwanda and the DRC are dangerously on the brink of war amid a resurgence of violence by the notorious M23 rebel faction in eastern DRC that began in March. Several settlements for internally-displaced families have been attacked with more than 160,000 more displaced following the resurgence in activity by M23. The M23 militia began as a renegade force of army mutineers in 2012, committing atrocities and war crimes. The current offensive against Government forces is reportedly the biggest in a decade. The Secretary General of the UN supports the decision of leaders of the East African Community (EAC) to dispatch a regional force to the DRC to extinguish the resurgence of violence. Leaders of EAC in May held a closed door- meeting, 3rd EAC Heads of State conclave on inter-Congolese Dialogue of the Nairobi process in Kenya to discuss the prolonged security crisis in the eastern DRC.
