Genocide Monitor: Nov. 7, 2008

• DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: Laurent Nkunda's rebels surround the city of Goma and despite a ceasefire have begun to attack other towns in North Kivu.
• SUDAN: Outside observers are worried about rising insecurity in South Kordofan as Chinese oil workers are kidnapped and killed by unknown gunmen.
• SRI LANKA: The government offensive continues while the LTTE respond with air strikes on the Sri Lankan capital.

Spotlighted Conflict: Democratic Republic of Congo

Situation on the Ground

• The CNDP militia has gained control of large portions of North Kivu over the past two weeks.¹ General Laurent Nkunda's forces captured the town of Rutshuru last week and surrounded that provincial capital, Goma.²

• After surrounding Goma, Nkunda declared a unilateral ceasefire.³ The situation in Goma is calm,⁴ but tense, and the international community is working towards preventing further violence.⁵

• In violation of the declared ceasefire, the CNDP captured the towns of Kiwanja, Nyanzala and Kikuku,⁶ breaking their own truce and driving 35,000 people from their homes.

• The ceasefire broke down on Friday, 7 November as the government and rebels traded fire near the town of Kibati, sparking fears of wider violence.7

Reinforcements For MONUC

• MONUC's chief, Alan Doss, has stated that his 800 peacekeepers in Goma are stretched thin⁸ and he has already requested reinforcements to stabilize the city.

• To assist the UN in Goma, the European Union is considering deploying 1,500 troops to augment MONUC,⁹ but has stated that they will be used for humanitarian support.¹⁰

Humanitarian Crisis

• The recent fighting has displaced at least 100,000 people and prevented aid agencies from reaching large numbers of civilians.¹¹

Peace Process

• After declaring his ceasefire, Nkunda requested direct negotiations with Congolese president Joseph Kabila,¹² which Kabila turned down,¹³ despite a renewed CNDP offensive.¹⁴

• To help restore the peace process, the United States, France and United Kingdom have sent envoys to the Congo¹⁵ and the UN Secretary General appointed former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo as his special envoy for the conflcit.¹⁶

Human Rights Violations

• The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) expressed alarm over the deteriorating human rights situation in Congo.¹⁷ Since fighting began, OHCHR reports additional instances of rape and summary execution committed by both the CNDP and FARDC.

LRA Attacks

• In addition to the violence in North Kivu, the rebel Lord's Resistance Army is on the march along Congo's border with Sudan.¹⁸ In late October, the LRA attacked the villages of Bangadi and Dungu, killing 15 and displacing 55,000.¹⁹

Area of Concern: Darfur

Situation On The Ground

• Security in Darfur remains poor as another UNAMID soldier was killed on patrol near Kassab, North Darfur.²⁰

• In Nyala, South Darfur, another UN vehicle was hijacked, the 208th such incident this year.²¹

• The UN was also targeted on October 24th, when its compound at the Mukjar refugee camp was assaulted by refugees dissatisfied with recent ration cuts.²²

ICC Updates

• The Sudanese government continues to prepare domestic war crimes trials for atrocities committed in Darfur, a move that Amnesty International castigates as simply diverting attention from President al-Bashir.²³

• China continues to work towards ensuring a 'soft landing' for any possible ICC arrest warrant,²⁴ but implied that it had no plans to suspend prosecution through Security Council action.²⁵

UNAMID Deployment 

• Despite the arrival of Bangladeshi logistics officers, UNAMID still lacks the troops it needs to carry out its civilian protection mandate.²⁶

Area of Concern: Sudan

Trouble in South Kordofan?

• Renewed tension in Sudan's South Kordofan state may lead to another conflict according to an October report from the International Crisis Group.²⁷ The report states that the polarizing influence of the North-South civil war, local insecurity, underdevelopment and dissatisfaction of local residents may lead to violence.²⁸ Kordofan is strategically located between North and South Sudan and tensions there raise serious concern in part because if civil war resumes, Kordofan is likely to be a flashpoint.

• In addition to these latent tensions, the recent abduction and death of five Chinese oil workers have increased fears that Kordofan is slipping into conflict.²⁹ While no one has claimed responsibility for the deaths, members of the government have simultaneously blamed JEM rebels³⁰ and implied that its former proxy tribal militias carried out the attack.³¹

Area of Concern: Sri Lanka

Continued Fighting

• Sri Lankan government forces continue to advance on the rebel capital of Kilinochchi and are reportedly within 6 miles of the city.³²

• The government also captured a key LTTE seaport, cutting the Tigers off from a key outside supply route.³³  Despite this setback, the LTTE again showed its ability to respond, by bombing a power station in Colombo and an army base in Mannar using light aircraft.³⁴

Rising Displacement

• Due to the fighting, OCHA now reports than more than 300,000 people are displaced in Sri Lanka's northern districts.³⁵

Diminishing Press Freedom

• A recent study by the International Press Freedom Mission condemned the Sri Lankan government for its actions towards reporters, stating that the government uses anti-terror measure to punish reporters and that journalists in Sri Lanka are at risk of violent intimidation, assault and murder.³⁶