Last modification: 23/01/09
 
Conflict in North Kivu
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Rwandan and Congolese authorities have created a joint mission to rid the DR Congo's eastern province of North Kivu of its Hutu rebels once and for all. Meanwhile, Laurent Nkunda's rebel Tutsi gang has been dispersed. FRANCE 24 reports.
The rebellion led by former General Laurent Nkunda has been scuppered by the rebel's former Tutsi allies, who turned against him when he least expected. The Congolese rebel was nabbed by the Rwandan army when escaping into Rwanda from his Congo HQ, in DR Congo’s mountainous region of northern Tivu. The arrest was part and parcel of a key deal agreed between DR Congo and Rwanda in December, 2008, to act in unison to flush out all rebels from the North Kivu region of eastern DR Congo - first and foremost the Hutus (FDLR). The deal was acted upon in mid-January, 2009, when over 3,500 Rwandan troops poured across the border into DR Congo. Rwanda acted fast in arresting Nkunda, who is wanted by Congolese authorities for numerous crimes committed during the conflict. The local chieftain, who is in Rwanda awaiting extradition to DR Congo, is also the target of an international arrest warrant.

 FACT FILE: the conflict in North Kivu

  • DR CONGO
    Rwandan, Congolese troops hunt for Hutu rebels
    Up to 3,500 Rwandan soldiers have crossed into the Democratic Republic of Congo's North Kivu region to hunt down defiant Rwandan Hutu rebels in a joint mission with the Congolese army. UN peacekeepers are barred from witnessing operations.
  • DR CONGO
    Arrested, rebel leader Nkunda faces extradition to DRC
    Congolese Tutsi rebel leader Laurent Nkunda has been arrested in Rwandan territory by the Rwandan army. The former army general, who has headed up a rebellion against the DRC since 2004, faces extradition to DR Congo.
  • DR CONGO - CRISIS
    Rebels force thousands to flee Kiwanja
    At Kiwanja, north of Goma in the rebel-held zone, human rights groups accuse rebels of killing dozens of civilians. The UN also blames the rebels for forcing thousands to flee the Kiwanja camp. FRANCE 24's Arnaud Zajtman and Marlene Rabaud report.
  • DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
    Heart of instability - Hutu rebels in the Congo
    Rwandan Hutu rebels entered the region in 1994 after participating in the Rwandan genocide. Two years later the Rwandan army invaded the region. Since then, the Kivu region of the DRC has been mired in violence.

Related links

  • DR CONGO
    Fact file: the conflict in North Kivu
    A history of the conflict in DR Congo, UN's role in the region and the renegade general leading the rebels. Scroll down to read the facts about the escalating conflict in North Kivu, which could once again leave the Great Lakes region in turmoil.
  • DR CONGO
    UN condemns ceasefire violation by rebels
    UN forces in eastern DR Congo on Monday accused rebels of launching attacks on government forces over the weekend and taking control of several small localities. The rebels, however, insist they have respected the Oct.29 ceasefire.
  • DR CONGO - REPORT
    Children take up arms in Nord Kivu
    Armed with abandoned Kalachnikovs, young boys and girls have joined the fight against Laurent Nkunda's rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo. FRANCE 24 correspondent Arnaud Zajtman met with 50 of these child-soldiers.
  • DR CONGO
    Local reports of Rwandan infiltration into DR Congo
    Congolese rebel leader Laurent Nkunda claims he is not receiving help from neighbouring Rwanda. But locals in North Kivu province tell FRANCE 24’s Arnaud Zajtman there is an influx of Rwandan arms and troops from across the border.
  • DR CONGO
    UN accuses rebels and militias of war crimes
    The head of the UN mission in the DR Congo has accused Laurent Nkunda's rebel army and the Mai-Mai militias of war crimes after unarmed civilians were apparently murdered in the fighting.
  • DR CONGO
    UN gets the blame for fresh rebel offensive in eastern Congo
    Rebel forces loyal to Laurent Nkunda routed government troops in the Congo's east, prompting the sacking of the defence and interior ministers. Meanwhile, the Spanish commander for the UN mission in DRC resigned citing "personal reasons."
  • NORTH KIVU
    Congo accuses Rwanda of planning an attack
    Congo has accused Rwanda of preparing an "imminent" attack on the Congolese town of Goma. FRANCE 24's Arnaud Zajtman reports that fighting between the Congolese army and a rebel group with suspected links to Rwanda has resumed in North Kivu.
  • REPORTAGE
    Waiting for peace in North Kivu
    One million displaced Congolese citizens in North Kivu, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, are pressing for a solution to their situation as President Joseph Kabila pays a visit to France.
  • DR CONGO - FRANCE 24
    DR Congo refugees recover from rape
    The UN Security Council has demanded an end to sexual violence during war, terming it a war crime and a component of genocide. One of the worst affected countries is the Democratic Republic of Congo. A. Georgian reports.
  • DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
    UN finds seven mass graves in DR Congo
    In two days a UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo has found seven mass graves containing over one hundred dead bodies, believed to be victims of the two last civil wars from 1996 to 2003.
  • FRANCE 24 REPORT
    Government crackdown on Congo separatists
    At least 68 people were killed after government forces launched an operation against members of the Bundu dia Kongo movement in the DRC's western Bas-Congo province. (Report: A. Zajtman)
  • DR CONGO
    Deadly raid in Nord Kivu
    A village raid by suspected militiamen left seven dead and six wounded in the Nord Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo Wednesday. This threatens to unravel the unsteady peace deal signed in January.
  • DR CONGO
    Congo ceasefire broken
    After just five days of ceasefire, fresh clashes erupted between Congolese Tutsi rebels and Mai Mai militia in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.
  • DR CONGO
    Congo government declares ceasefire in east
    Rebels in the DRC loyal to General Laurent Nkunda signed a peace pact on Wednesday with the government and Mai Mai militia to end fighting in the east of the country.
  • DR CONGO
    Congo's Nkunda rebels sign peace deal with government
    Rebels in the DRC loyal to General Laurent Nkunda signed a peace pact on Wednesday with the government and Mai Mai militia to end fighting in the east of the country.
  • DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
    The flight of civilians continues
    Heavy fighting resumed on Sunday in North-Kivu between rebels loyal to renegade general Laurent Nkunda and the regular army.(Report: A. Zajtman/M. Rabaud)
  • DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
    Clashes continue in DR Congo
    Fighting continued near Mushaki in the Democratic Republic of Congo's Nord-Kivu province after the army pushed in vain to try to take a town back from a renegade former general, the military said.
  • DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
    Mai Mai, a new militia in North Kivu
    A new mysterious group that calls itself "Mai Mai" has taken up arms and struck new alliances against the troops of dissident General Laurent Nkunda. (Report: A. Zajtman)
  • DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
    Tens of thousands flee Kivu region
    Despite a UN-negociated ceasefire between the DRC army and renegade troops loyal to ex-general Laurent Nkunda on Sept. 6, 30.000 villagers fled the region of Saké. (Report : A.Zajtman).
  • DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
    Concern over eastern Congo violence mounts
    After a recent round of heavy fighting in the region, a senior EU official urged greater cooperation between fractious neighbours Rwanda and the DRC.

Video

Photos

  • France24.com
    FRANCE 24 correspondent Arnaud Zajtman (rear seat) and camera operator Marlene Rabaud (hanging out of window) at work in eastern Congo. Picture by Marcus Bleasdale.
  • North Kivu sits on the border between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda
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