Never Again
Thirteen years after the Rwandan genocide, Hutus and Tutsi ethnic tension overflows in neighbouring Congo. 370,000 people have been displaced over the past months and Hutu militia and Tutsi warlords battle against each other in the hills of Kivu province. The international community watches silently.
A shaky ceasefire between the Congolese army and Nkunda‘s troops fell apart in late August and skirmishes between them have continued, despite the government‘s announcement to extend a deadline for the dissident troops to join the national army.
Nkunda, who leads the dissident soldiers, says he is defending the interests of Congolese Tutsi, a minority group of which he is a member. He claims that the Tutsi of North Kivu, where he is based, will lack adequate protection if he permits his troops to be fully integrated into the national army and deployed to posts elsewhere in Congo.
His forces have also fought FDLR combatants, many of whom are Rwandan Hutu or members of Congolese groups related to the Hutu. At times the FLDR have fought against Congolese army troops but on other occasions; they have cooperated with soldiers of the government army. In recent operations, FDLR were said to be fighting with government troops against Nkunda.
In addition to killing and abducting scores of civilians, soldiers have engaged in widespread rape and in the looting and destruction of property. All forces used child soldiers and some commanders tried to prevent international child protection agencies from locating and removing children from their ranks.