Two Attacks in Two Days on UN Peacekeepers in Congo

Members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Ugandan rebel group with bases in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), are suspected of ambushing a United Nations patrol on Tuesday near the northeastern Congolese town of Beni, killing two Tanzanian peacekeepers and injuring 13 others. Four additional peacekeepers went missing after the strike but have since been found in eastern Congo.

This attack comes the day after unknown gunmen targeted a UN helicopter transporting Brazilian General Carlos Alberto dos Santos Cruz, military leader of MONUSCO, the UN peacekeeping mission in DRC. The flight made an emergency landing, and Santos Cruz is unhurt. Felix Prosper Basse, spokesman for MONUSCO, said it is unclear which rebel group is responsible, but many suspect ADF is to blame.

ADF was formed in the mid-1990s when Islamists and Ugandan opposition forces came together in the Ruwenzori Mountains in western Uganda to launch an insurgency against President Yoweri Museveni. Sudan has supported ADF, and some believe that the jihadist group has ties to al-Shabaab, the Islamic terror group based in Somalia.

The Ugandan military largely destroyed ADF, but the group was able to survive in neighboring eastern Congo, an area still recovering from the Second Congo War, which lasted from 1998-2003 and killed millions. Persistent chaos and instability there has made the gold and diamond-rich region prime for armed militant groups, who have exploited these resources and caused terror.

ADF is accused of slaughtering about 300 villagers near Beni between October and December, among other atrocities. Early last year, Congolese forces started Operation Sukola I against ADF, and MONUSCO, which was created in the year 2000 to monitor the peace process of the Second Congo War and has since remained there, is assisting in Congo’s fight against ADF.

MONUSCO has 20,000 total troops in its effort to pacify the rampant violence in eastern Congo. The two Tanzanians killed were part of a 3,000-person combat brigade, which is largely run by Tanzania. The brigade was deployed in July 2013 in response to a rebel uprising that forced about 800,000 people from their homes.

Santos Cruz is reportedly traveling to Beni to help coordinate “‘robust measures’” against ADF, whose leader, Jamil Mukulu, was arrested last month in Tanzania; Uganda police announced Wednesday their request for the extradition of Mukulu. Furthermore, Kasada Karume, ADF’s third most senior member, was killed last month fighting Congolese troops who killed 16 ADF fighters this past weekend in northeastern Congo.

These recent incidents likely led to Monday and Tuesday’s attacks against UN personnel. Head of MONUSCO Martin Kobler tweeted, “I won’t tolerate any more of these repeated attacks against blue helmets in Beni territory. MONUSCO will carry out robust offensive operations.”

UN chief Ban Ki-moon described how “continuing atrocities perpetrated by the ADF against defenseless civilians in the Beni area” must stop immediately while the UN Security Council said that attacking peacekeepers can be considered war crimes under international law.

There are rumors that ADF has infiltrated security services, to which a spokesman for Beni’s civil society group said that the rebels do indeed have a strong spy network. While ADF is generally considered responsible for this week’s attacks, some locals believe another entity could be responsible.

According to one local, “There are so many groups here and in the past week we have learned that a Congolese army officer who defected and fled to Uganda has re-entered the territory with a group of fighters.” The Congolese army said it does not confirm such an infiltration from Uganda and that ADF is the primary enemy.

This week’s attacks against UN peacekeepers illustrate a chaotic situation in DRC only becoming more violent. The ADF is aggressively targeting civilians and military personnel, and despite continued efforts by MONUSCO and Congolese forces, eastern Congo remains a mess. With the crisis in neighboring Burundi quickly worsening and refugees fleeing, east Africa and eastern Congo are in a bad state. The international community needs to have a strong presence here to prevent a region prone to large-scale ethnic violence from repeating history.