InfoAnda - Insight: Ethnic, economic interests entangle Rwanda in Congo |

Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case
Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They

Taiwan denies boycotting Australian film festival
Thursday, August 6, 2009

AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e

Merkel's support dips, regional ally resigns International
Thursday, September 3, 2009

By Sarah Marsh and Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German

Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who

Asian markets mixed after Wall Street rally
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an

Taiwan's 'Susan Boyle' voted off talent show | 12 April 2010
Bahrain seeks to dissolve main opposition group | | 14 April 2011
Afghanistan frees more suspected Taliban | | 12 July 2010

Toyota financial unit asks to borrow public money | 3 March 2009

Forum Views () Forum Replies ()

Read more with google mobile : Insight: Ethnic, economic interests entangle Rwanda in Congo |

Edition: U.S. Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Home Business Business Home Economy Technology Media Small Business Legal Deals Earnings Social Pulse Business Video The Freeland File Aerospace & Defense Markets Markets Home U.S. Markets European Markets Asian Markets Global Market Data Indices M&A Stocks Bonds Currencies Commodities Futures Funds peHUB World World Home U.S. Brazil China Euro Zone Japan Mexico Russia India Insight World Video Reuters Investigates Decoder Politics Politics Home Election 2012 Campaign Polling Political Punchlines Supreme Court Politics Video Tech Technology Home MediaFile Science Tech Video Tech Tonic Social Pulse Opinion Money Money Home Tax Break Lipper Awards 2012 Global Investing MuniLand Unstructured Finance Linda Stern Mark Miller John Wasik James Saft Analyst Research Alerts Watchlist Portfolio Stock Screener Fund Screener Personal Finance Video Money Clip Investing 201 Life Health Sports Arts Faithworld Business Traveler Entertainment Oddly Enough Lifestyle Video Pictures Pictures Home Reuters Photographers Video Reuters TV Reuters News Article Comments (0) Pictures Editor's choice Our best photos from the last 24 hours. Slideshow Follow Reuters Facebook Twitter RSS YouTube Read Russia warns West over Syria after Obama threats | 21 Aug 2012 Ecuador's leader says open to talks with Britain on Assange | 21 Aug 2012 Akin rebuffs Romney, Republican, calls to quit Senate race | 2:57am EDT Ethiopians mourn strongman ruler Meles, dead at 57 | 21 Aug 2012 Accused Colorado gunman saw three mental health experts: report 21 Aug 2012 Discussed 138 Obama’s lead over Romney grows despite voters’ pessimism 122 Romney to announce vice presidential choice Saturday 94 Analysis: Are Israelis tough enough for a long war with Iran? Sponsored Links Pictures Reuters Photojournalism Our day's top images, in-depth photo essays and offbeat slices of life. See the best of Reuters photography. See more | Photo caption Art of Damien Hirst A look at the unusual and controversial art of Damien Hirst. Slideshow Longest lived women: Hong Kong Hong Kong women are now the longest-lived women in the world, overtaking a record formerly held by Japan. Slideshow Insight: Ethnic, economic interests entangle Rwanda in Congo Tweet Share this Email Print Factbox Violence in eastern Congo 4:03am EDT Analysis & Opinion Rebel resistance collapses in key suburbs Opting for lean and mean armies Related Topics World » United Nations » Congo » By Jonny Hogg KIWANJA, Democratic Republic of Congo | Wed Aug 22, 2012 4:03am EDT KIWANJA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) - Four years after dozens of his neighbors in the remote eastern Congolese village of Kiwanja were butchered by rebels, Olivier has a sense of a recurring nightmare. Insurgents once again stalk the village's abandoned streets and fearful residents crowd for safety at the shut gates of the nearby U.N. peacekeepers' base as gunfire shatters the silence and government troops retreat in chaos. As with a previous 2004-2009 rebellion, Congo's leaders, U.N. experts and regional analysts point to small but militarily powerful neighbor Rwanda as the driving force behind this latest insurgency to test Kinshasa's tenuous hold over the east. After wars in the 1990s, Rwanda withdrew troops from Congo in 2002. But Congo watchers say Rwanda's security apparatus has continued to project its military, political and economic interests across the border, using armed groups as proxies. Kiwanja resident Olivier, who withheld his surname fearing reprisals, believes many of the same fighters that carried out the 2008 massacre that killed 150 people in his village have returned as part of the new rebellion. "For me, it's the same movement, just changed its name," said 20-year-old Olivier, referring to the M23 rebels who have seized territory north of Goma in eastern North Kivu province in recent months, forcing over 270,000 people from their homes. The United Nations linked Rwanda to the rebels behind the last revolt, which finally ended in 2009 when Rwanda arrested the Congolese Tutsi rebel leader, Laurent Nkunda, who denies his forces were behind the massacre in Olivier's village. For a time, Rwanda and Congo cooperated and Nkunda's former fighters, the CNDP, were integrated into the Congolese army. But that deal has fallen apart, and the new rebels say they have taken up arms again because the Congo government reneged on it. Meanwhile, Congolese who have known relentless war and rebellion for the past 18 years, see more killing ahead. Jean Mwendo, one of thousands living with no shelter on muddy roads on the outskirts of Goma after fleeing fighting, said he had to leave his parents behind because they were too weak to leave. "Before it was the CNDP who made war. Now it's M23. We think it's the same... It's Rwanda who cause all the war in the east." DENIAL DOUBTED Rwanda strongly denies backing the M23. A small country that has long been held up by Western governments and businessmen as a model of reform, Rwanda jealously guards its reputation. But Western countries have made clear they do not believe its denials. Several, including the United States, Britain and Sweden, have frozen aid over accusations that Rwanda is waging proxy war across the border. "Rwanda has maintained covert capacity to shape events in the east (of Congo). They never let go," said Ben Shepherd, a British ex-diplomat who has followed the region for 10 years. "There is a complex stew of economic, nationalistic and ethnic drivers as to why they are doing it," he added. Rwanda, whose army first entered Congo in 1996 and fought in two wars there, says it is being made a scapegoat for the Congo government's and wider world's failures to bring peace to the vast, mineral-rich former Belgian colony at the heart of Africa. "We are kind of really getting tired of getting caught up in a conflict that's not ours," said Louise Mushikiwabo, Rwanda's foreign minister. When U.N. experts drafted a report, leaked in June, citing evidence that senior Rwandan military officials had been backing the M23 rebellion, the Rwandan government issued a detailed, point-by-point rebuttal that condemned the report as one-sided. Independent Great Lakes expert Jason Stearns believes the festering eastern Congo conflict is eroding one of Rwanda's biggest assets: its status as model of post-conflict development lauded by world leaders and business executives. "The biggest damage that's happening to Rwanda right now is the damage to its reputation," he said. Congo's geography of vast, impenetrable rainforest has long steered its eastern trade away from its own distant capital Kinshasa and towards Rwanda's much closer capital Kigali. Congo's borderlands are separated from Kinshasa by more than 1,500 km (900 miles). There are no year-round roads and a decrepit aviation sector. By contrast, traders in Goma, lakeside capital of Congo's North Kivu province, can cross the Rwandan border and drive just a few hours on gleaming highways to its capital Kigali, where a modern airport boast flights to far-flung hubs like Dubai. David Katumba, vice president of the Federation of Congolese Enterprises lamented that Congolese businessmen keep millions of dollars in Rwanda's banks: "With our weakness, it's given them (Rwanda) an opportunity to do what they want with us." OUTCOME OF GENOCIDE More than 5 million people died in Congo through violence, hunger and disease as a result of two wars and a series of rebellions since the late 1990s, according to a 2008 study by the International Rescue Committee. All those conflicts were broadly linked to the 1994 Rwandan genocide that saw Hutu soldiers and militia kill around 800,000 mostly ethnic Tutsis in 100 days. After the genocide, many of the Hutu militia fighters fled to camps in Congo. Rwanda, now led by President Paul Kagame's Tutsi-dominated government, says the Hutu fighters sheltering in Congo remain a threat, and it has a right to focus on security, especially as the Congolese state has failed to pacify the border area. A sizable population of speakers of the Rwandan language live across the border in Congo. Militias have sprung up from this group, often headed by Tutsis such as Nkunda's CNDP, officially to protect themselves from Hutus and other hostile ethnic groups but frequently taking sides in uprisings against Kinshasa, often with Rwandan support. Nevertheless, Congolese officials and U.N. experts say Rwanda's past interventions have been motivated as much by economic interests as by security. Rwanda now has one of the best armies in Africa, and has not suffered an attack from Hutu rebels in Congo for about a decade. The United Nations says the Hutu rebel FDLR force hiding in eastern Congo, believed to number as many as 15,000 a decade ago, has been reduced to less than 3,000 fighters. Previous U.N. reports have documented lucrative smuggling rackets ferrying coltan, tin, gold and tungsten ferried across to Rwanda. At the height of Congo's last war in 1999, profits from eastern Congo's mineral fields contributed some $320 million to Rwanda's defense budget, U.N. experts said. Congo's Information Minister Lambert Mende says the pattern of war for mineral wealth has resumed, and the latest rebel campaign is an extension of a Kigali-backed "war of pillage". "The (Rwandan) mafia profit to the maximum from the disorder, not paying anything to the Congolese state," he said. Noel Twagiramungu, a Rwandan human rights activist who fled his country in 2004 when civil society groups came under pressure, also said money was at the root of the intervention. "I think we can say that Rwandan involvement in Congo minerals is a state-controlled enterprise," he said. Emmanuel Ndimubanzi, head of the North Kivu's provincial government's mining division, said new local and international legislation targeting conflict minerals has slowed legal trade to almost zero, but smuggling routes remain. WEAK CONGO Those who accuse Rwanda of pulling the strings point to the M23's rapid expansion as a sign it must be helped from abroad. The M23 rebels numbered just a few hundred in April and were surrounded by government forces. Since then, their ranks have swelled to some 1,500. The advancing fighters wear crisp camouflage uniforms and brandish gleaming new guns and grenades which they say they captured from fleeing government troops. Rebel deserters have given detailed accounts of recruitment drives in Rwanda to supply fighters for M23. Young men identified themselves as Rwandans and said they were told they were joining the Rwandan army, but instead found themselves sent across the border to fight as Congolese rebels. Rwanda and M23 deny those accounts. Ultimately, the success of rebellions in eastern Congo has at least as much to do with Congo's weakness as Rwanda's strength. Congo's President Joseph Kabila has ruled out dialogue with the rebels, saying they must be crushed, but he lacks the capable military forces that could carry out the threat. Several weeks of rebel advances have laid bare the weakness of the Congolese government army, despite millions of dollars in foreign aid. The front is now just 30 km (19 miles) from Goma. M23 takes its name from a March 23, 2009 deal that ended the 2004-09 revolt by Nkunda's CNDP. The new insurgents accuse Congo's government of failing to honor that 2009 peace pact, which would have guaranteed them salaries as Congolese troops. U.N. investigators say a key figure in the M23 uprising is Bosco Ntaganda, who took over the CNDP when Nkunda was arrested, and then served as an officer in Congo's army for several years when the CNDP was incorporated in it under the 2009 peace deal. Ntaganda is now sought by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes. His fighters began flocking to the M23 after the Congolese government raised the prospect of arresting him and breaking up what it described as CNDP criminal networks. Shepherd says Rwandan President Paul Kagame is caught between wanting to maintain inflows of foreign aid to fund his development plans and sustaining the loyalty of his powerful military, which sees opportunities in Congo's eastern riches. "Keeping their loyalty may explain Kagame's willingness to risk so much in (Congo)," the former diplomat wrote in an analysis for independent think tank Chatham House in London. Tutsi rebel chiefs like Nkunda and Ntaganda forged deep bonds through military careers in the ranks of Rwanda's armed forces on both sides of the border in the 1990s, before they later became rebels in Congo. "You can't see the Rwandan element in Congo without domestic politics in Rwanda. The military establishment in Rwanda is extremely influential and important. They often have an attitude towards eastern Congo of wanting to control everything that goes on, especially on their border," Stearns said. The M23 rebels have made tentative efforts to link up with other armed groups in the east, where Kabila won heavily in a 2006 election but where his popularity has plummeted since, further hurt by a troubled re-election last year criticized as flawed by local and foreign observers. The rebels are also keen to tap into broader frustrations over incomplete decentralization plans, sentiments shared both in the east and in the southern copper rich mining province of Katanga, which has a history of secessionist bids. Kinshasa's press is full of editorials accusing Rwanda of seeking the break-up of Congo. Kabila faces a dilemma similar to 2009, and must choose between a domestically unpopular deal with the rebels and trying to defeat them with a government army which has simply collapsed in the face of rebel advances. Witnesses often talk of encountering drunken government troops in full retreat. Regional efforts to tackle the crisis have for now led to a pause in fighting but provided no lasting solution. A summit in Uganda's capital Kampala earlier this month discussed a "neutral force" that would eliminate Congo's eastern rebels, but failed to secure clear agreement. It was not established who would be part of such a force, raising raw memories of the late 1990s, when armies of nine neighboring nations were sucked into fighting in Congo. The longer the M23 revolt lasts, the more difficult Rwanda may find it to end its damaging entanglement in eastern Congo. "Can Rwanda draw a line between what is Rwandan affairs and what is Congolese affairs? I don't think so," said rights activist Twagiramungu. Back in Kiwanja, Olivier wishes only for an end to the recurring nightmare. The rebels bring a "reign of terror", he says. "Everyone goes to bed and dreams that when they wake up, they will be gone." (Writing and additional reporting by David Lewis; Additional reporting by Drazen Jorgic in Kampala and Joe Bavier in Abidjan; Editing by Pascal Fletcher and Peter Graff) World United Nations Congo Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above. Edition: U.S. Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Back to top Reuters.com Business Markets World Politics Technology Opinion Money Pictures Videos Site Index Legal Bankruptcy Law California Legal New York Legal Securities Law Support & Contact Support Corrections Connect with Reuters Twitter Facebook LinkedIn RSS Podcast Newsletters Mobile About Privacy Policy Terms of Use AdChoices Copyright Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance Our next generation legal research platform Our global tax workstation Thomsonreuters.com About Thomson Reuters Investor Relations Careers Contact Us Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests. NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.

Other News on Wednesday, 22 August 2012
U.N. atomic watchdog in new bid to unblock Iran probe |
Capriles tries to outdo Chavez in display of dynamism |
Egypt deployment of armor in Sinai worries Israel |
Former Cuban officials get prison terms for corruption |
Germany's Social Democrats want to renegotiate Swiss tax deal |
Dell issues weak forecast, shares slide |
Exclusive: Barry Diller's IAC offers $300 million for About.com |
Exclusive: Dell brings on ex-HP executive to spur global services |
Apple, Foxconn improve plants in China; more left to do: audit |
China's ZTE to log biggest three-month profit fall in 8 years |
U.S. testing talking cars to avoid crashes, congestion |
Barnes & Noble loss narrows, but Nook device sales fall |
Jimmy Kimmel goes head-to-head with Leno, Letterman |
The Office to end run on U.S. TV in 2013 |
Film, TV actors honor Dick Van Dyke with lifetime award |
Grammys go country for nominations concert |
Porn film production on hold after Los Angeles syphilis case |
Classical Brits to honor U.S. film composer Williams |
Ecuador's leader says open to talks with Britain on Assange |
Insight: Ethnic, economic interests entangle Rwanda in Congo |
Russia warns West over Syria after Obama threats |
Death toll from Lebanon fighting climbs to 10 |
Japan PM meets activists as he ponders nuclear power |
Analysis: As Dutch zeal for Europe wanes, election brings risks |
Analysis: Russia and China in WTO
Greek PM hosts Eurogroup chief, begins lobbying effort |
Ethiopians mourn strongman ruler Meles, dead at 57 |
Italy's instability deepened by pigsty law |
Apple, Samsung make final pitch to U.S. jury |
Apple, Foxconn improve China plants, but more to do -audit |
U.S. looks into claims of security flaw in Siemens gear |
T-Mobile USA to offer unlimited data service option |
Comcast losses bid to limit class action case |
Coroner says filmmaker's family ruled out cancer in his suicide |
After saying Hello, DJ Solveig brings Smash to U.S. |
Porn film production on hold after Los Angeles syphilis cases |
Greek PM seeks breathing space as talks begin |
Assange impact on British-Latin American ties seen limited |
Iran calls Israeli military threats propaganda |
Greece can stay afloat if tranche comes after October: Samaras |
Pentagon eyes top Marine as Afghan commander |
Safari plane crash kills two Germans in Kenya |
Unrest spreads in violence-hit South Africa mining belt |
Disgraced tycoon Nadir faces UK jail after 17 years on run |
JMP starts Zynga with market outperform rating, shares jump |
T-Mobile USA to offer unlimited data service option |
Sony mulls hundreds of job cuts in Sweden: report |
Dell's outlook disappoints as PC market falters |
PayPal eyes 7 million retail locations in Discover deal |
UK's Prince Harry cavorts naked in Vegas party photos |
LL Cool J fought and detained burglar at his house, police say |
Singer Sarah Brightman may be Russia's next space tourist: report |
Private Greta Garbo goes public in celebrity auction |
A Minute With: Keanu Reeves going digital with 'Side By Side' |
Carrie's War author Nina Bawden dies aged 87 |
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights

USD EUR - 1 year graph	VPN on MacOSX	BlogMeter 1.01