US embassy cable - 05KINSHASA410

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KINSHASA 000410 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, KPKO, MOPS, PHUM, PREL, CG 
SUBJECT: U.N. BRIEFS ON ITURI SITUATION 
 
 
1. (U) SUMMARY: U.N. officials briefed Kinshasa-based 
diplomats and humanitarian workers on March 8 about the 
current situation in Ituri. They stressed the need for the 
GDRC to adopt a clear position towards Ituri militias and to 
address the dire humanitarian situation they have caused. End 
Summary. 
 
Militia at Loga Were Well-Organized 
----------------------------------- 
2. (SBU) MONUC military chief of staff Gen. Jean-Francois 
Collot d'Escury briefed Kinshasa-based diplomats and 
humanitarian workers on March 8 about MONUC's recent 
operation in Ituri against the Front for National Integration 
(FNI) militia group.  The March 1 clash with the FNI at 
Loga--pitting 242 Pakistanis, Nepalese and South Africans 
against over 450 militiamen--began when the latter opened 
fire on the MONUC force.  Gen. Collot d'Escury noted that the 
FNI force was well-armed and employed sound tactics. The 
MONUC force therefore approached deliberately and slowly to 
give civilians time to flee the village.  Subsequent missions 
by MONUC and MSF have not found evidence of civilian 
casualties from the Loga operation, he added. 
 
GDRC Policy Towards Ituri Unclear 
--------------------------------- 
3. (SBU) Dominique McAdams, the MONUC/Bunia's civilian head 
of office, emphasized that the GDRC needed to clarify its 
stance towards the armed groups in Ituri.  She said that 
although some Ituri militia leaders were under "house arrest" 
in Kinshasa, the GDRC had yet to officially charge or detain 
any of them for their role in destabilizing Ituri. She also 
said the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) militia had failed 
to send to Kinshasa any of the UPC officers integrated into 
the national army on January 10, yet the GDRC had not taken 
any action against them. Finally, McAdams noted that over 100 
villages had been burned and over 50,000 people had been 
displaced by militias in Ituri over the past 10 weeks, yet 
the GDRC has remained silent on the humanitarian crisis. 
 
MONUC Alleges Ugandan Support to Militias 
----------------------------------------- 
4. (SBU) Gen. Collot d'Escury said the level of 
sophistication shown by FNI militias during the Loga 
operation and the type of arms seized from them pointed to 
external support, most likely from Uganda. McAdams also 
alleged that officers from various militias, including UPC 
and Popular Armed Forces of the Congo (FAPC) travel 
frequently to Kampala without any impediments. She noted that 
earlier in the year a group of militia had evacuated the 
village of Joo on the shores of Lake Albert and taken a boat 
towards Uganda with all their arms. (Note: In November 2004 
poloff crossed the DRC-Ugandan border twice from the town of 
Aru, Ituri in the company of FAPC militias without anyone 
having been stopped by Ugandan authorities to present 
documents. End Note.) 
 
Militia Attacks Have Caused Humanitarian Crisis 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
5. (SBU) Jahal De Meritens, head of the UN's Office for the 
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the DRC, called 
attention to the dire humanitarian situation caused by 
militias in Ituri. He said humanitarian agencies had a 
limited capacity to provide assistance in Ituri, especially 
in areas of continued militia activity such as Tche and Kafe, 
and called for a coordinated, multi-sector, simultaneous 
strategy of assistance. De Meritens said that as of March 8, 
the internally displaced population (IDP) in Ituri was as 
follows: 
 
- Tche: 21,350 
- Kakwa/Kafe: 17,760 
- Kasenyi/Tchomia: 15,700 
- Gina: 13,495 
- Bunia Airport: 10,015 
- Lopa: 7,000 
- Muhito: 5,305 
 
Congolese Commander Negotiates Militia Disarmament 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
6. (SBU) The commander of the 9th Military Region, General 
Padiri Bulende, told poloff March 9 he had obtained an 
agreement from the Popular Armed Forces of the Congo (FAPC) 
militia in Aru, Ituri, to demobilize 2000 of its fighters. 
The national commission for disarmament and demobilization 
(CONADER) would usher this group through the disarmament 
program in Ituri. Many of these individuals will eventually 
join the national army. 
 
7. (U) Bujumbura minimized considered. 
MEECE