Congolese Rebel Attack Threatens Ebola Containment Efforts

In the center of the world’s latest Ebola outbreak, rebels from the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) attacked the army of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), killing 15 people and abducting at least a dozen children. ADF forces attacked a troop position and multiple neighborhoods in the city of Beni in North Kivu province. The U.N. Peacekeeping mission stationed there also reported engaging the rebels before they fled. North Kivu is the epicenter of a recent Ebola outbreak officials have been working to contain. The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported 118 fatalities out of more than 200 confirmed cases but has not declared the outbreak to be a threat to global health. This latest attack is close on the heels of a similar attack that occurred last month, which resulted in the deaths of 18 people. The threat of another attack has prompted aid workers to halt vaccinations and patient tracing, but treatment centers will remain open.

Instability and conflict has long plagued the DRC. The most serious threats are the many rebel groups operating along the DRC’s border regions with Uganda and Rwanda. Led by Jamir Mukulu, the ADF represents the largest and oldest insurgent group in the borderlands. Formed in the late 1990s in western Uganda, the ADF is coalition of multiple groups, including the Islamist group Tabliqs and the National Army for the Liberation of Uganda. With alleged ties to the governments of Sudan and Somalian terror group al-Shabab, the ADF has fought against both the Ugandan and Congolese armies while continually waging a brutal war on the region’s civilians. The kidnappings reported in this attack closely resembles past ADF actions, utilizing kidnapped children as child soldiers in order to boost their dwindling numbers.

Current US policy towards the DRC emphasizes humanitarian aid and resolving the root causes of regional instability. The US is the largest single donor to the DRC, having donated $87 million in 2017. The multiple Ebola crises (10 since 1976) have served to increase US public awareness of the region’s many problems. In addition, the US military has focused on Africa’s various roles in the spread of transnational terrorist organizations. The borderlands in which the ADF operates provides a sanctuary for militia groups and insurgents, all of whom pose a threat to US interests. In a March 2017 address to the United States Congress, Gen. Thomas Waldhauser illustrated the importance of African regional stability to US national security: “Today, transregional violent extremist organizations constitute the most direct security threat to the United States… To address this threat, our military strategy articulates a long-term, regionally focused approach for a safe and stable Africa”. Joint training exercises between South African defense forces and US forces in 2017 demonstrate the US willingness to put some boots on the ground in an effort to ensure regional peace in the DRC, should the need ever arise.

The US must continue to engage African nations on issues of security and provide aid to countries like the DRC in their ongoing conflict with rebel forces. Furthermore, US efforts to combat the Ebola virus decreases chances for flareups in the area and demonstrates good faith to regional governments like the DRC’s. Further instability weakens the ability of African nations to fight forces that pose a threat not only to themselves, but to US interests throughout the region.