Why M23 Fired At UN Plane
The United Nations helicopter that came under fire in Eastern Congo last Saturday was on a reconnaissance mission aimed at supporting DRC armed forces in their plans to launch a fresh attack on rebel M23 positions, a highly-placed source told Chimpreports on Monday.
By www.chimpreports 14 oct 2013
“We got intelligence that the plane intended to carry out espionage activities in Rumangabo which is our main operations centre. The UN is so desperate for information about our strength and movements to help its allies including DRC forces and other militias to prepare for another assault on our territory,” the source said on condition of anonymity.
The source further added that the UN plane carried surveillance equipment that would enable its pilots scan the rebel-held territory following reports that M23 had reinforced its positions.
M23 publicist, Amani Kabasha, confirmed shooting at the plane, saying it was a “warning shot” aimed at “discouraging UN from further hostilities.” It remains unclear why UN continues to run military operations in the rebel-controlled territory yet regional leaders under the auspices of ICGLR recently resolved in a meeting in Kampala that all parties to the conflict cease hostilities to pave way for peace talks in Kampala.
The M23 leader, Brigadier Sultan Makenga, last month directed his forces to shoot down all planes that attempt to fly over the Movement’s territory without his authority.
Airspace violations
Amani told Chimpreports then that the order followed frequent violations of their territory’s airspace by unknown elements to conduct espionage activities. “The M23 directorate warns those responsible for these acts of provocation. They are warned that in case of recurrence, our Army instructions are clear and unequivocal to destroy immediately and without warning to those deadly aircrafts,” Amani said then.
Sources say the M23 have stockpiles of anti-aircraft artillery recovered from FARDC defence institutions in Goma last year.
Just before the Saturday incident, two helicopters painted in white colors and marked as UN, flew at very low altitude in M23 space for more than three hours from the southern town of Kibumba through Rugari, Bukima, Runyoni, Ntamugenga before coming out from Tongo.
Another helicopter flew over Bunagana. This Corp who visited the border town of Gisenyi in Rwanda on Saturday saw heavily-armed Rwandan troops along the streets.
The head of the United Nations peacekeeping operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Martin Kobler, has since condemned a rebel attack on the UN helicopter. “This afternoon, an unarmed MONUSCO [United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC] helicopter came under direct fire from positions held by the March 23 (M23) rebel movement in the Rumangabo region,” said Kobler. He further observed that “MONUSCO air missions shall proceed” and that “M23 rebels will not prevent us from using the Congolese air space. We shall continue doing all in our power to defend civilian populations including by using force if necessary.”
The M23 – composed of soldiers who mutinied from the DRC national army in April – along with other armed groups, has clashed repeatedly with the DRC national forces (FARDC).
In the past year, clashes have continued sporadically throughout the DRC’s eastern region, with rebels briefly occupying the main city, Goma, in November 2012.
The M23 maintains a political solution is the only route to a peaceful end to the conflict and accuses DRC of pursuing a military approach which has led to the displacement of more than 100,000 people, exacerbating an ongoing humanitarian crisis in the region which includes 2.6 million internally displaced persons and 6.4 million in need of food and emergency aid.
In March, the Security Council authorized the deployment of an intervention brigade within the Mission to carry out targeted offensive operations, with or without the Congolese national army, against armed groups in eastern DRC.
Recent clashes between M23 and the allied troops of DRC, Rwanda, Tanzania and South Africa raised tensions in the region with rockets falling in the Rwandan territory.
Rwanda responded by amassing troops at the border with DRC before threatening to retaliate. This compelled President Museveni to convene an emergency meeting of regional leaders in Kampala, who resolved that DRC and the rebels return to negotiations, bringing to a halt clashes between rebels and allied forces.
The M23 in 2012 rebelled against President Joseph Kabila’s government, demanding the return of Congolese refugees in foreign countries, extension of socials services to Kivu and an end to discrimination, human rights abuses and corruption in the army.
– See more at: http://chimpreports.com/index.php/special-reports/13478-inside-story-why-m23-fired-at-un-plane.html#sthash.B6tyJfYm.dpuf
Report: M23 Profiting From Smuggled Gold In Uganda
Redpepper.co.ug, 13 oct. 2013
M23 fighters in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are bankrolling their rebellion by smuggling illicit gold that is entering jewelry stores and banks worldwide, according to a report published Thursday.
The Washington-based anti-genocide advocacy group Enough Project identifies three main gold exporters it believes are helping the M23 rebels and their allies to sell gold from eastern Congo, from which an estimated $500 million worth is traded annually.
The group says the individuals who are indirectly purchasing smuggled gold in Uganda and Burundi without exercising due diligence should be added to the list of those facing U.N. sanctions.
However, the report fell short of mentioning the individuals.
“That’s not to say that somebody else couldn’t try to take it over but gold smuggling is a highly illicit business where people find it very difficult to trust one another,” said Sasha Lezhnev, senior policy analyst for the Enough Project. “So building up those trust relationships again would take quite a long time.”
The report highlighting M23′s financial resources comes after a recent upsurge in rebel violence during which the Congolese military was aided by a U.N. peacekeeping mission with a strengthened mandate to help fight rebels. M23 and the Congolese government agreed to resume talks since those clashes erupted in late August, though negotiations have repeatedly stalled and made little progress.
Vianney Kazarama, a spokesman for the M23 rebels “categorically denied” the report’s findings Thursday, calling them baseless.
“Our leader Sultani Makenga has never trafficked minerals from the time he was in the army until now,” Kazarama told The Associated Press.
