Key developments
since March 1999: It is clear that antipersonnel mines were still being
used in the DRC in 1999 and 2000, despite an August 1999 peace agreement. But
it remains impossible to verify who is responsible for laying the mines. There
have been accusations that not only are government troops and opposition RCD
forces using mines, but also troops from Rwanda, Uganda, Zimbabwe, and Chad.
Similar accusations were also levelled at the plethora of foreign and local
insurgent groups, which are fighting in eastern Congo against the RCD rebels and
their foreign backers. Virtually all sides have denied using mines.
Uncertainties about who is responsible for use of antipersonnel mines in the
DRC have continued for more than two years now. Landmine Monitor believes that
it has reached the point where States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty should make
detailed requests for clarification from Uganda, Rwanda and Zimbabwe, and should
make all other efforts to establish the facts regarding mine use in the
Democratic Republic of Congo.
In July 2000, UNMAS drew up a three-phase action plan for the DRC for the UN
mission charged with implementation of the peace agreement.
Background
By 1999 it had become evident that nobody had the
upper hand in what is now referred to as Africa’s “First World
War.” Angola, Zimbabwe, and Namibia deployed troops on Congolese
territory in mid-1998 in support of President Kabila, as an offensive by the
rebel Rassemblement Congolais pour la Democratie (RCD), with Ugandan and Rwandan
support, threatened his overthrow. Other countries to become directly involved
in the conflict include Burundi, Chad and Sudan. After months of tortuous
negotiations, the Lusaka agreement was finally reached on 31 August 1999. This
marked the start of a theoretical peace, although fighting has continued,
including between past allies, Uganda and Rwanda. The end of use of landmines
and their clearance were part of the Lusaka Agreement, but fresh mines continued
to be laid. A United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of
Congo (MONUC) through Security Council Resolution 1291 (2000) has a mandate to
develop an action plan for the overall implementation of the Lusaka Agreement;
this includes assessment and action on landmines and
UXO.[1]
Mine Ban Policy
DRC has not acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT).
It voted in favor of the December 1999 UN General Assembly resolution in support
of the Mine Ban Treaty, as it did on a similar resolution in 1998. The DRC is
not known to have made any policy statements, or attended any diplomatic
meetings, regarding landmines in 1999 or 2000. The Acting Ambassador of DRC to
Kenya, Professor Mugaruka Bin Mubibi, told Landmine Monitor that his government
“has more urgent issues to
tackle.”[2] He also
produced a list of parties involved in the DRC conflict and said, “Find
out from them whether they are using landmines or not.”
The DRC is not a party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons and is not a
member of the Conference on Disarmament.
Production, Transfer, Stockpile
DRC is not a known producer of antipersonnel mines.
Information on the transfer of landmines either to or from the DRC remains
unknown.[3] Details on the size
and composition of the DRC’s stockpile of AP mines is also unknown.
Use
While it is clear that antipersonnel and antitank
mines were still being used in the DRC in 1999 and 2000, it remains impossible
to verify who is responsible for laying the mines. There have been accusations
that not only are the government forces of Kabila and the opposition RCD using
mines, but also troops from Rwanda, Uganda, Zimbabwe, and Chad. The only forces
deeply involved that have not been accused of use are Namibia and Angola (which,
oddly, admits to use inside its own country). All sides have denied
responsibility for laying mines in
Congo.[4] Uganda and Zimbabwe are
states parties to the Mine Ban Treaty; Rwanda ratified on 13 June 2000 and will
become a formal state party on 1 December 2000.
Landmine Monitor stresses that information on mine use in the DRC remains
sketchy and unreliable. The difficulties of researching and reporting events on
the ground from a war zone are compounded by the possibilities of false
accusations and disinformation from various concerned parties. Uncertainties
about who is responsible for use of antipersonnel mines in the DRC have
continued for more than two years now. Landmine Monitor believes that it has
reached the point where States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty should make
detailed requests for clarification from Uganda, Rwanda, and Zimbabwe, and
should make all other efforts to establish the facts regarding mine use in the
Democratic Republic of Congo.
There are reliable reports of mines laid in areas surrounding the
hydroelectric facilities on the Inga Dam, in and around the town of Mbuji-Mayi,
and Ikela airport, and unconfirmed reports of mining around areas of Bukavu and
Goma in the east.[5]
Most recently, there have been reports of use of mines in June 2000 in the
hostilities between Rwanda and Uganda over the city of Kisangani, held by the
RCD rebels. It has been reported that during this fighting more mines were
planted around Bangoka International airport and on a section of the
Kisangani-Buta road known as Km 31. There have also been reports of mines laid
at Simi Simi and Bunia airport and
Ikela.[6] A number of areas have
been declared off-limits because of
landmines.[7] According to
municipal authorities some ten people have been killed by UXO and landmines
since hostilities ceased in Kisangani.
[8] Following the fighting, the
rebel RCD noted the need for demining parts of Kisangani
town.[9]
With regard to who is responsible for laying the mines, a UN official told
Landmine Monitor that Uganda and Rwanda had both used mines in the fighting over
Kisangani.[10]
The RCD rebels claim that Rwandan and Ugandan troops left more than 4,000
antipersonnel landmines in the town, but state that they have found most of the
mines close to a former Ugandan army base on the road to Bangoka
airport.[11]
Uganda accused Rwanda of mining the Tchopo bridge in Kisangani, though it
does not seem these were munitions prohibited by the Mine Ban Treaty. (See
Landmine Monitor Rwanda
report.)[12]
Outside of Kisangani, in August 1999 local people in the Bukavu area from
Ngando village told Landmine Monitor that they believed Rwandan soldiers planted
a mine on a path frequently used by Interahamwe
militiamen.[13] A cow detonated
the landmine.
Landmine Monitor Report 1999 noted that Namibia and Zimbabwe had
accused both Rwanda and Uganda of use of mines in the DRC; at that time Rwanda
and Uganda were allies in the
conflict.[14]
According to one source, there were accounts of Zimbabwean troops planting
defensive minefields around Mbuji Maya when they feared that city would be
captured by rebels in 1999.[15]
Landmine Monitor has not seen these accounts. In June 2000, the Namibia
Campaign to Ban Landmines was informed by relatives that two Namibian soldiers
died in the DRC when they stepped on “friendly” antipersonnel mines
allegedly planted by Zimbabwean soldiers. Landmine Monitor Report 1999
noted that there had been accusations of mine use by Zimbabwe in the Congo in
1998 as well.[16]
Landmine Monitor has also obtained reports of mines being laid by Chadian
forces in Equatoria.[17]
Landmine Problem
Landmine Monitor conducted an informal survey of
the mines in the eastern part of DRC, which is perhaps the most mine-affected
part of the country,[18] and
concluded that mines have been planted in or around various places such as
markets, airports, agricultural zones, hospitals, pathways, roads, and
houses.[19]
While Kisangani suffered in recent fighting, it is not the only area
affected. In April 1999, a landmine was found at Route D’uvira Avenue,
not far from Kadutu market in Bukavu. Tutsi soldiers were called to remove
it.[20]
In the Kivu region, Landmine Monitor believes that the following areas may be
mined: along the Ruzizi river on the Rwandan border (including Nguba, Mushununu,
Mumosho, Buhozi and Kasile); the Ngomo hills on the Bukavu-Uvira road; around
Mudaka market; Karhale; Bunyakiri, Mwenga, Shabunda; Kaziba, especially in the
Bumwe and Ngando area and the Kibumb to Goma road.
Mine Action
MONUC is mandated by the UN Security Council to
develop an action plan for implementing the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement, which
includes dealing with the landmine situation. In July 2000, UNMAS drew up a
three-phase action plan for MONUC: (1) to establish and assess the scope of the
UXO and landmine problem, to initiate mine awareness activities, and liaison
with all actors in DRC; (2) the consolidation phase, to establish regional
offices, to continue to develop the emergency mine action response to facilitate
safe return of IDPs and refugees and to enhance mobility of MONUC troops and
humanitarian organizations in the country; and (3) when possible and before
withdrawal of MONUC, develop with national authorities a medium- to long-term
mine action plan. At this stage, a Level 1 Survey might become
necessary.[21]
In reporting on the situation in July 2000, UNMAS notes:
“General situation as far as political, military and security aspects
are concerned, currently does not allow for a smooth initiation of any mine
action activities.
- Freedom of movements is not yet guaranteed, in particular for MONUC in DRC
Government controlled areas as well as in rebellion controlled areas;
-Fighting is still ongoing;
-Most of mine/UXO affected areas are under military (DRC or rebellion)
control;
-MONUC deployment schedule is shifting: latest schedule plans for full
deployment in September/October 2000.
However, the first mine action officer should be deployed within MONUC
Headquarters in
August/September...”[22]
In June 2000, following the fighting between Uganda and Rwanda, the rebel RCD
said it will demine parts of Kisangani town. The RCD first vice-president
Jean-Pierre Ondekane is reported to have said, “We are doing our best by
asking humanitarian agencies to come in and supplement our demining efforts so
that our people are
safe.”[23] Some mines have
been cleared, for example, an AT mine was removed from the Mental Health Center
at Kisangani General Hospital. There has also been some demining at Simi Simi
and Bunia Airport.
Landmine Casualties and Survivor Assistance
There are hospitals and health centers in the
country, though they are poorly equipped, insufficient in number, and the
situation has worsened with the war. During the emergency period, the ICRC
established temporary first aid posts in the Bukavu
area.[24]
In Kisangani, mine victims are treated at the University clinic, the General
Hospital, or the Simana center for the physically handicapped. In addition to
being poorly equipped, these facilities do not provide specialized assistance to
mine victims.
In Bukavu there is a center for the physically handicapped, but services are
provided at a high cost. There are also similar centers in Goma, Mabuji Maya,
Kinshasa, and Kisangani. Of all the mine victims interviewed by Landmine
Monitor only two could afford to pay for orthopedic
devices.[25]
Handicap International runs a program in Kinshasa, and the Catholic Church
tries to provide psychological care to the disabled.
In a limited survey, Landmine Monitor researchers identified forty-three mine
and UXO victims in the eastern DRC for the period 1995-1999. Seventeen were
fatalities. Of the 43, four were children under the age of sixteen, two died;
of the thirty-nine adults, there were thirty men (thirteen fatalities) and nine
women (two fatalities); seven of the victims required amputation of a limb.
[1] The Resolution requires MONUC “to
deploy mine action experts to assess the scope of the mine and unexploded
ordnance problems, coordinate the initiation of mine action activities, develop
a mine action plan, and carry out emergency action activities as required in
support of its mandate.” [2]
Interview, Nairobi, 4 May 2000. [3] In one
anecdote told to Landmine Monitor, a refugee in Mulengeza Township exchanged a
lamp for a landmine offered by a Hutu refugee. Fortunately he handed the mine
over to the head of the camp. Interview with the father of the refugee,
Byamungu Bebe Badesire, Nairobi, 26 March
2000. [4] Telephone interviews with
diplomats from DRC, Chad, Namibia, Uganda, and Zimbabwe, New York, 28 July
2000. [5] See, “Regional Round
Up,” De-Mining Debate, South African Institute of International Affairs,
1-8 July 1999, p. 9. [6] Interview with
BRZ International Ltd., Johannesburg, June 2000. BRZ is a South African mine
clearance firm which conducted a survey in DRC in 2000 and described it as
“badly contaminated.” [7]
Telephone interview with UN source in Kisanagani, 28 July
2000. [8]
Ibid. [9] IRIN-CEA Update 973 for the
Great Lakes, 24 July 2000. [10] Telephone
interview with UN official in Kisangani, 28 July
2000. [11] “Rebels say more than
4,000 Mines Left in Kisangani,” AFP (Kisangani), 21 July 2000, in
FBIS. [12] “Tchopo Bridge
Mines,” New Vision, 19 June
2000. [13] Interview with Bali Munenwa,
Chibanda/Kaziba, 27 December 1999. [14]
Landmine Monitor Report 1999,
pp.194-195. [15] Interview with U.S.
intelligence specialist on DRC, London, 23 June
2000. [16] Landmine Monitor Report 1999,
pp.194-195. [17] Interview with U.S.
intelligence specialist on DRC, London, 23 June
2000. [18] This is defined as the
“rebel-held,” area which includes South and north Kivu, the Uvira
Region, Orientale Province (formerly Haut Zaire) as well as a section of Katanga
region, extending to Kalemie, Moba and Baraka. North Shaba is also
included. [19] Interview with a prominent
human rights activist, Nyawera, 23 December
1999. [20] Interview with Eliasa (a
trader) at Walungu, 28 December 1999. [21]
“Update on Mine Action in the Democratic Republic of Congo,” UNMAS,
12 July 2000. [22] UNMAS Update, 12 July
2000. [23] IRIN-CEA Update 973 for the
Great Lakes, 24 July 2000. [24] Landmine
Monitor research in northeastern part of the DRC, May
2000. [25] Visit to Centre Heri Kwetu, 29
December 1999.
About Us
Our Research Products