International > Africa > Novelty in Congo: U.N. Investigates a Massacre" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/24/international/africa/24congo.html?oref=login&oref=login&oref=login">The New York Times > International > Africa > Novelty in Congo: U.N. Investigates a Massacre
Concerned about the rising abuses, United Nations peacekeepers, most from Nepal, surrounded the militia base on the hill overlooking the town in early December and ordered the fighters to surrender. When they refused, the two sides exchanged fire, with the guerrillas eventually breaking through the soldiers' line and retreating. It was the largest military engagement involving Congo peacekeepers since they were deployed here in 2000, United Nations officials said. It was followed by a raid on another militia camp 12 miles away, in Mahagi. In that case, the militias retreated even more swiftly. The results have been startling. Ndrele has settled into something resembling normalcy. On a recent market day, thousands of people from surrounding villages swarmed into town under the watchful eye of the peacekeepers. One man whose son had been killed by the militia years ago said it was the first time in five years he had dared come to Ndrele. The women in the market said that they were selling more than ever and that, best of all, they no longer had to share their wares and their profits with the militias. Besides reassuring residents, the raid instilled fear in the militiamen. More than 100 have come to a disarmament camp that the United Nations set up in September to reintegrate combatants into society.
Complete Article
Novelty in Congo: U.N. Investigates a Massacre
December 24, 2004
By MARC LACEY
NDRELE, Congo - Crime scenes in eastern Congo are not
normally cordoned off with yellow police tape.
Investigations are almost unheard of. The blood just washes
away, children scoop up the shell casings or misplaced
machetes, and the witnesses, if there are any, just try to
forget.
But here on an overgrown hilltop that used to be a militia
camp, a bamboo fence encloses a dozen sites where mass
killings are thought to have taken place. Gathered around
the area recently, peering into pits containing human
bones, were prosecutors from Congo and from the
International Criminal Court intent on bringing justice.
The mere fact that the killings are being investigated is a
rare and welcome development in this lawless region, where
massacres have become the order of the day.
There are countless towns like Ndrele, places where so many
unspeakable acts have taken place for so long that most
people had lost hope of living a normal life. But United
Nations peacekeepers, alarmed by the allegations of
atrocities, broke with their normally passive approach in
early December and ordered a raid on Ndrele.
Their forces easily routed the militias and proved, at
least for now, that there is no inevitability to the
lawlessness here, that it is possible to take back the
eastern Congo from the militias, provided there are enough
troops to enforce the peace.
On a recent afternoon Uyera, a plump grandmother, sat on
the side of the main dirt road selling mandro, a fermented
drink made of corn. She told how local militias used to
stop and gulp down as much as they wanted. When she asked
for payment, they scoffed and walked away.
Theft was commonplace when the militiamen from the Armed
Forces of the Congolese People ran Ndrele. A woman selling
fruit says she had to give some to whichever armed man came
by. At the end of the day, other guerrillas would insist on
a portion of her profits. They called it taxation.
The men would beat or kill anyone who dared to resist. Rape
was a constant danger. One activist, Sofi Aromborac, has a
list of 282 girls and women who have been raped over the
past two years. "Even if you were an old woman like me, you
could be raped," she said.
Concerned about the rising abuses, United Nations
peacekeepers, most from Nepal, surrounded the militia base
on the hill overlooking the town in early December and
ordered the fighters to surrender. When they refused, the
two sides exchanged fire, with the guerrillas eventually
breaking through the soldiers' line and retreating.
It was the largest military engagement involving Congo
peacekeepers since they were deployed here in 2000, United
Nations officials said. It was followed by a raid on
another militia camp 12 miles away, in Mahagi. In that
case, the militias retreated even more swiftly.
The results have been startling. Ndrele has settled into
something resembling normalcy. On a recent market day,
thousands of people from surrounding villages swarmed into
town under the watchful eye of the peacekeepers. One man
whose son had been killed by the militia years ago said it
was the first time in five years he had dared come to
Ndrele.
The women in the market said that they were selling more
than ever and that, best of all, they no longer had to
share their wares and their profits with the militias.
Besides reassuring residents, the raid instilled fear in
the militiamen. More than 100 have come to a disarmament
camp that the United Nations set up in September to
reintegrate combatants into society. Those who do not come
now face the wrath of local residents, who have begun
rounding up anyone they regard as a guerrilla. At least 10
have been killed.
Mangara Ukethwengu, 20, had been with the militia in Ndrele
but decided to give up. As he walked along the road to go
to the transit camp, however, residents set upon him with
machetes, leaving gashes on his arms, head and groin.
"I can understand why they're angry," said Mr. Ukethwengu,
who was recovering in a makeshift prison cell at the
military base in Mahagi. "The militia has been hurting them
and they wanted to hurt me."
Local religious leaders have called on the population to
stop the brutality. After all, it is not certain how long
the 100 or so Nepalese solders who now patrol Ndrele plan
to stay.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/24/international/africa/24congo.html?ex=1104900946&ei=1&en=7d7173c9fe4cde05
---------------------------------
Get Home Delivery of The New York Times Newspaper. Imagine
reading The New York Times any time & anywhere you like!
Leisurely catch up on events & expand your horizons. Enjoy
now for 50% off Home Delivery! Click here:
http://homedelivery.nytimes.com/HDS/SubscriptionT1.do?mode=SubscriptionT1&ExternalMediaCode=W24AF
HOW TO ADVERTISE
---------------------------------
For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters
or other creative advertising opportunities with The
New York Times on the Web, please contact
onlinesales@nytimes.com or visit our online media
kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo
For general information about NYTimes.com, write to
help@nytimes.com.
Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company
No comments:
Post a Comment