Congo wants the UN peacekeepers gone. But the endless war over minerals complicates that

Sam Mednick and Ruth Langa
| Associated press

Goma, Congo – The end of one of the deadliest and yet most shadowy wars in the world is as difficult to predict as the end of the great peacekeeping force that must contain this war.

Congo is desperate for stability in its mineral-rich east, which is vital to the global economy. But political friction means the government wants the old United Nations peacekeeping force out of there.

That would leave the vast region, overrun by dozens of armed groups, including one affiliated with the Islamic State group, with even less defense for millions of displaced civilians. But frustration with the peacekeepers has become so great that many Congolese also want them gone.

The Associated Press witnessed the dilemma during a rare visit and night patrol with the U.N. force now known as MONUSCO, which entered Congo more than two decades ago and has 14,000 peacekeepers on the ground.

It patrols a landscape that seems far removed from the authority of the Congolese government, with unpaved roads turned into slippery mud by the pouring rain and residents long accustomed to feeling like they are there, in terms of security concerns, only for standing. Some armed groups in the region are self-defense collectives.

While visiting a frontline town of Sake, about 15 miles from the regional hub of Goma, the AP spoke with militia members trying to defend the population against a resurgent group, the M23, and sniper fire from the surrounding hills. .

The M23 is supported by neighboring country Rwanda, whose government denies this. The involvement of better-equipped Rwandan forces, of which UN experts estimate there are around 4,000 in Congo, has led to talk of war by the Congolese government.

A ceasefire brokered by the United States and Angola in July has reduced fighting between Rwandan and Congolese forces, but clashes between M23 and other militias continue.

“We are fighting against the enemy who is a foreigner in our country. They are not Congolese, but they want to take Congo,” said one fighter, Amini Bauma.

Sake is one of the last main routes to Goma under government control, but heavy fighting forced most residents to flee this year, leaving boarded-up houses behind.

About 160 civilians and soldiers passed through Sake’s military hospital over the summer, most with gunshot wounds, said Omar Kalamo, a nurse. In August, a bomb exploded behind the building, he said.

Some who fled are now returning and finding little safety elsewhere. Bitakuya Buhesha found his house destroyed. But he said he would rather brave gunfire than live in displaced persons camps infiltrated by fighters.

“We have been waiting for a long time and we don’t know if our army will win this war or if it will be the M23 rebels,” he said.

Many Congolese who once looked hopefully to the UN peacekeeping force are now angry. In recent years, several protests, some violent, have targeted the force.

Last year, at Congo’s request, the UN Security Council unanimously voted to withdraw the peacekeeping force and gradually transfer its security responsibilities to the Congolese government by December.

But due to increasing violence, the departure is now being postponed.

On a recent day, peacekeepers in armored vehicles entered a small base in the hazy hills outside Goma, the tents surrounded by barbed wire and sandbags. Troops sat with a machine gun pointed in the direction of the rebels.

In recent months, clashes between the Congolese army and M23 have occurred within a mile of the base.

The UN force is trying to find new ways to fend off the rebels. Last year it established new bases between the front lines and some 600,000 displaced people sheltering around Goma. It is training Congolese soldiers in the hope that they can fill the security gap once the country leaves.

“If the warring armed groups had come forward and attacked the civilians, MONUSCO would have purely changed its position from defensive to offensive operations,” said Brigadier General Ranjan Mahajan, commander of the UN Center Sector for North Kivu province.

MONUSCO described the security challenges as “multiple and multifaceted” and said only one of its brigades is tasked with going on the offensive. This affects a single area, Beni, where deadly attacks are particularly common. Otherwise, the UN mission is defensive and works with the Congolese armed forces and others.

But some Congolese, who believe the UN force is not aggressive enough, say any new efforts to protect them are futile.

“You can see that MONUSCO is there, but it is only in name… People are dying, but it does nothing,” said Maombie Aline, a displaced person in Goma.

And yet the international community has warned that the withdrawal of UN forces would leave a security vacuum. According to the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, more than 80% of Congo’s seven million displaced people live in areas protected by the UN.

Last month, US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the withdrawal of peacekeepers from South Kivu province in June left critical gaps, and that the Security Council should not authorize further withdrawals until a plan is in place to soften this. The US is the largest financial supporter of the force.

Congolese Communications Minister Patrick Muyaya said there would be a new timeline for MONUSCO’s departure, but did not provide details. He said a joint team of government and UN officials was assessing the situation.

The streets of Goma are full of armed men, both local and foreign. In addition to the UN force and an unknown number of Congolese forces, there are about 1,000 foreign mercenaries, a coalition of local militias and a South African regional force. A recently deployed East African force was kicked out amid criticism that it was ineffective.

“It’s a military jungle,” said Onesphore Sematumba, a Congolese researcher for the International Crisis Group. “There are many actors, but everyone has their own agenda… they cannot make a difference because they are divided.”

Global interest in eastern Congo’s minerals is one reason the violence is so difficult to control, experts say.

Congo is the world’s largest producer of cobalt, a mineral used to make lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles and smartphones. It also has significant gold, diamond, copper and cobalt reserves.

In May, M23 fighters seized the town of Rubaya, which is home to tantalum – used in electronics including Apple devices – and extracted from coltan. The area is estimated to supply more than 15% of global tantalum production and now generates about $300,000 a month for M23, said Bintou Keita, head of Congo’s UN mission.

UN experts said in June that some of the Rubaya minerals had been smuggled across the Rwandan border.

Rwanda is selling minerals from eastern Congo and portraying them as conflict-free, says Darren Davids, an analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit – allegations documented by both UN experts and the US.

Davids said the international community has hesitated to meaningfully call on Rwanda to stop fighting because the country has become a reliable trading partner for the West as competition for minerals increases.

Meanwhile, Rwandan-backed rebels are accused of obstructing and threatening the UN mission so it can seize more territory, and are widely expected to take advantage of its departure.

The Rwandan government and M23 did not respond to requests for comment.