The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon visited eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) [1] over this past weekend.
His visit comes at a time when the security situation on the ground is quickly changing.
In January, CNDP rebel leader Laurent Nkunda, responsible for the
violent upsurge in fighting in the fall that displaced 250,000 people,
was arrested in Rwanda. Following his arrest, the Rwandan national
army entered North Kivu province to conduct joint operations with the
Congolese national army against the FDLR rebel group. The Rwandans,
claiming that the operations had been a success, pulled out their
troops days before Ban arrived in the DRC.
While Ban brought back a message of hope and peace [2] from his visit the
reality is that the arrival of the Rwandan army in eastern DRC and the
joint operations against the FDLR rebels have had a serious impact on
the civilian population.
I recently visited with displaced communities in both North and South
Kivu [3]. In North Kivu, I met with many people who had been displaced
several times as a result of fighting between various armed groups.
They remained wary of returning home quickly, despite the arrest of
Nkunda, and the supposed integration of the CNDP rebel group into the
national army.
In South Kivu, I met Congolese people who had recently fled their homes
in North Kivu, either because they were scared by the presence of the
Rwandan army or because the FDLR rebel group had attacked their
communities following the start of the operations.
Given how quickly events unfolded on the ground, it still remains
unclear how many people were displaced because of the operations.
However, there are serious concerns that civilians will continue to be
attacked and forced to flee their homes, particularly if the Congolese
army continues operations against the FDLR in South Kivu [4].
Years of conflict in eastern DRC means that people affected by the
ongoing violence are still in serious need of assistance and
protection. A military solution to the problems in eastern DRC cannot
be the only option. Rather than offering messages of hope and peace,
Ban should be pressuring the Congolese and Rwandan governments to
uphold previous commitments and work towards a political solution to
the FDLR and other armed groups.