Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly
Zaire)
July 1,
2008: The International Criminal Court (ICC) has charged two Congolese militia
commanders (Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui and Germain Katanga) with war crimes. The
crimes (the murder of 200 people) the men are charged with occurred in 2003 in
Equateur province's Ituri region (near the Uganda border). The ICC warrants are
a double-edged sword. In the case of Uganda, warrants for LRA leader Joseph
Kony have proved to be an obstacle to getting a peace settlement.
June 27,
2008: On June 26, the UN suspended relief supply shipments to the city of
Rutshuru (North Kivu province) because of "insecurity". Riots broke out in the
town on June 24 and 25. Supply shipments resumed on June 27. Rutshuru has been
the scene of clashes between the Congolese Army (FARDC, Armed Forces of the
Democratic Republic of Congo) and militias loyal to General Laurent Nkunda.
June 21,
2008: The Congolese Army (FARDC) fought a series of battles with a Mai Mai
militia in Orientale province. The government claimed that 29 Mai Mai fighters
were killed and the Congolese Army lost four soldiers. The Congolese Army has
been conducting a limited offensive in Orientale since late May against
militias that have refused to disarm. Some of the operations have taken place
in the border region between Orientale and North Kivu province.
June 19,
2008: A relative calm had returned to the western Congo, but ceasefire
violations by militias in the eastern Congo continued to be a dangerous
problem. The UN report focused on troubles in North Kivu. The Congolese Army
and the Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) engaged in a series of
firefights than began on June 10 when a company of the FARDC's 64th Battalion
attacked an FDLR base. On June 14 the FDLR ambushed a Congolese Army unit north
of the town of Nyamilima.
June 13,
2008: A firefight broke out between units in an "integrated" Congolese Army
brigade, the 14th Brigade in South Kivu province. Many of these "integrated"
units contain formers enemies who still don't care for each other. Three men
died in the incident.