The International Crisis Group warns that the latest massacre in Goma clouds DR Congo’s elections and the future of the UN mission.
The latest killings blamed on Congolese elite troops who allegedly slaughtered over 50 civilians planning to protest perceived foreign interference in the eastern DR Congo, three months ahead of elections shone a spotlight on the huge flaws in President Felix Tshisekedi’s security arrangements for the east of the country and threaten to cloud his campaign for a new term in office, the ICG says in a new report released on Tuesday.
The new report recalls that in the early morning of 30 August, soldiers from the Republican Guard and other army units stormed a church and a radio station belonging to a sect known as Agano la Uwezo/Wazalendo (Church of the Patriots, in Kiswahili) in Goma, capital of North Kivu province in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Initial reports indicate that the sect had announced its intention to demonstrate against the UN peacekeeping mission, or MONUSCO, as well as the East African Community force, which deployed to stem armed group violence in the eastern in August 2022, and Western NGOs operating in the area.
The ICG claims that rather than easing public outrage at the brazen attack, the authorities’ fumbled response fanned the flames.
By casting their actions as part of efforts to counter the M23 and Rwanda, the accused and the government are trying to justify the 30 August raid as linked to protecting Goma, it adds.
“But as the trial progressed, this line of defence began to crumble, with testimony by various witnesses highlighting serious problems in the army’s chain of command,” the new report says.
For example, at his hearing on 9 September, the military intelligence chief for North Kivu accused the Republican Guard of killing unarmed civilians, after he himself had been disarmed on the orders of Colonel Mikombe:
“The commander of the Republican Guard asked me to stop talking to the demonstrators. The demonstrators were unarmed when I was talking to them. I was there, and we counted 42 dead and 33 wounded on the spot” the report quotes him saying.
According to ICG, with preparations well advanced and elections now likely to take place in December, the 30 August massacre casts serious doubt upon the government’s ability to handle the inevitable demonstrations during the forthcoming campaign.
By hauling the six military officers ostensibly involved in the bloodletting into court, Tshisekedi is likely seeking to distance himself from the Republican Guard, it suggests.
“The authorities [in DR Congo] should ensure, through a serious investigation, that all those involved, including members of the military hierarchy in Goma and Kinshasa, will be held accountable for their actions”
