Kafrican
JF-Expert Member
- Jan 26, 2015
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MONUSCO Force Intervention Brigade FIB imekua DRC kwa miaka 8 sasa ikijaribu kuleta amani eneo la DRC, wakati ilipoanza ilikua adui mkubwa ni M23 (kama sijakosea) ambao walimumunyika na kupotea ndani ya raia wa kawaida kisha baadae wakaanzisha vita vya guerilla, Sahii M23 hawatajiki tena lakini kuna wengine wanaitwa Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) ambao inasemekana ndo wabaya zaidi kwani wamechukua itikadi kali za kigaidi kwahivyo si wanamgambo wa kitoto tena, sasa wameanza kuwaigiza wale wenzao wa Somalia kama vile wale wa Mozambique wanavyofanya...... Somo la siku ni kwamba usipoziba nyufa utajenga ukuta, hawa watu wakiwachiwa wazunguke bila vikwazo wanaweza kumiliki nchi nzima na ikawa tatizo hadi kwa majirani kama vile inavyokua kule Somalia ay Iraq etc...
Anyway, wakaazi wa Beni wanasema wamechoshwa na uwepo wa wanajeshi wa Monusco ambao kazi yao ni kukaa kwa kambi, wananchi wakivamiwa na magaidi na kuchinjwa kama mbuzi MONUSCO haiwasadii na hata hahaifanyo lolote kumfyata adui huyo msituni.... Sasa vile Kenya imeingia, Tumepata mazoea ya kupambana na adui wa aina hii, Natumai kutakua na nguvu mpya kwa nchi zote zilizochangia wanajeshi kwa FIB ili tumalize hawa magaidi na kuleta amani kwa eneo hili.
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Kenyan soldiers poised to serve in the UN peacekeeping force in DR Congo have arrived in Beni but found a lukewarm reception in the flashpoint eastern city.
Local resident Adriel Tsongo, 30, said the troops from the East African country, making their first mission to strife-torn North Kivu province, "inspire a little confidence".
But, he said, "We do not trust the UN, and we wonder if these Kenyans will make a difference."
He took a swipe at the "very passive" UN force's FIB brigade, which was authorised in 2013 to take on a more offensive posture but is accused by locals of doing little to protect them from armed groups.
"Why, after 20 years of... failures, are they adding more troops, saying that they will fight harder than the others?" asked student Benjamin Sivanzire.
He said the UN soldiers were "lazy" and predicted the Kenyans would not be able to do better than other units.
Such scepticism is deep-seated in Beni, a town of about 200,000 people that has suffered grievously at the hands of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF).
- Notorious group -
Linked by the United States to the Islamic State group, the ADF is considered to be the deadliest of more than 120 armed groups that roam eastern DRC.
Angry protests, some of which have turned violent, have erupted in Beni over perceived inaction by the UN's peacekeeping mission, now more than two decades old, and the DRC armed forces.
As of May, the UN force, MONUSCO, listed its forces at 12,181 troops and 1,612 police, with a civilian contingent of 2,970 employees. The annual budget is around $1 billion.
The FIB, deployed notably in Beni, consists of battalions from Malawi, South Africa and Tanzania, now joined by the Kenyan troops.
The force is being strengthened with four "organic rapid intervention units" in order "to increase the presence on the ground for the protection of the populations", military spokesman Major Ari Foukory told AFP.
The Tanzanians arrived a few months ago, the Kenyans moved into their quarters on Monday and Nepalese and South African contingents are expected shortly, he added, without specifying the number of men concerned.
- Need quick results -
Kambale Musavuli, a taxi driver, said the situation in Beni was getting worse.
The presence of MONUSCO "didn't stop the ADF from cutting people's throats", he said, adding he hoped MONUSCO would "clear off".
"If the Kenyan troops want to earn the trust of local people, they have to start straight away with operations that give tangible results," Tsongo said.
Otherwise, he warned, "we will again protest against this force, which isn't helping us at all, and demand its departure".
"What counts is the result on the ground," agreed Calvin Maliro, a youth leader in Beni's Bungulu district.
"We have heard that the Kenyans are used to fighting jihadists," said another youth representative, Jimmy Kighoma, for whom the new peacekeepers were "welcome" so long as they "aren't coming as tourists".
"We understand the public's exasperation, given the killings, the barbarism and violations of human rights," the FIB spokesperson said.
MONUSCO, he stressed, was not there to replace the Congolese army. Its main mission is "to ensure the protection of civilians", he said.
The Catholic Church in the country says the ADF has killed around 6,000 civilians since 2013, while a respected US-based monitor, the Kivu Security Tracker (KST), blames it for more than 1,200 deaths in the Beni area alone since 2017.
The toll has risen sharply since 2019, when the militia appears to have become more radicalised, carrying out massacres in remote villages and taking survivors hostage.
www.dailymail.co.uk
Anyway, wakaazi wa Beni wanasema wamechoshwa na uwepo wa wanajeshi wa Monusco ambao kazi yao ni kukaa kwa kambi, wananchi wakivamiwa na magaidi na kuchinjwa kama mbuzi MONUSCO haiwasadii na hata hahaifanyo lolote kumfyata adui huyo msituni.... Sasa vile Kenya imeingia, Tumepata mazoea ya kupambana na adui wa aina hii, Natumai kutakua na nguvu mpya kwa nchi zote zilizochangia wanajeshi kwa FIB ili tumalize hawa magaidi na kuleta amani kwa eneo hili.
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Guarded welcome for Kenyan troops in DR Congo flashpoint town
Kenyan soldiers poised to serve in the UN peacekeeping force in DR Congo have arrived in Beni but found a lukewarm reception in the flashpoint eastern city.
Local resident Adriel Tsongo, 30, said the troops from the East African country, making their first mission to strife-torn North Kivu province, "inspire a little confidence".
But, he said, "We do not trust the UN, and we wonder if these Kenyans will make a difference."
He took a swipe at the "very passive" UN force's FIB brigade, which was authorised in 2013 to take on a more offensive posture but is accused by locals of doing little to protect them from armed groups.
"Why, after 20 years of... failures, are they adding more troops, saying that they will fight harder than the others?" asked student Benjamin Sivanzire.
He said the UN soldiers were "lazy" and predicted the Kenyans would not be able to do better than other units.
Such scepticism is deep-seated in Beni, a town of about 200,000 people that has suffered grievously at the hands of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF).
- Notorious group -
Linked by the United States to the Islamic State group, the ADF is considered to be the deadliest of more than 120 armed groups that roam eastern DRC.
Angry protests, some of which have turned violent, have erupted in Beni over perceived inaction by the UN's peacekeeping mission, now more than two decades old, and the DRC armed forces.
As of May, the UN force, MONUSCO, listed its forces at 12,181 troops and 1,612 police, with a civilian contingent of 2,970 employees. The annual budget is around $1 billion.
The FIB, deployed notably in Beni, consists of battalions from Malawi, South Africa and Tanzania, now joined by the Kenyan troops.
The force is being strengthened with four "organic rapid intervention units" in order "to increase the presence on the ground for the protection of the populations", military spokesman Major Ari Foukory told AFP.
The Tanzanians arrived a few months ago, the Kenyans moved into their quarters on Monday and Nepalese and South African contingents are expected shortly, he added, without specifying the number of men concerned.
- Need quick results -
Kambale Musavuli, a taxi driver, said the situation in Beni was getting worse.
The presence of MONUSCO "didn't stop the ADF from cutting people's throats", he said, adding he hoped MONUSCO would "clear off".
"If the Kenyan troops want to earn the trust of local people, they have to start straight away with operations that give tangible results," Tsongo said.
Otherwise, he warned, "we will again protest against this force, which isn't helping us at all, and demand its departure".
"What counts is the result on the ground," agreed Calvin Maliro, a youth leader in Beni's Bungulu district.
"We have heard that the Kenyans are used to fighting jihadists," said another youth representative, Jimmy Kighoma, for whom the new peacekeepers were "welcome" so long as they "aren't coming as tourists".
"We understand the public's exasperation, given the killings, the barbarism and violations of human rights," the FIB spokesperson said.
MONUSCO, he stressed, was not there to replace the Congolese army. Its main mission is "to ensure the protection of civilians", he said.
The Catholic Church in the country says the ADF has killed around 6,000 civilians since 2013, while a respected US-based monitor, the Kivu Security Tracker (KST), blames it for more than 1,200 deaths in the Beni area alone since 2017.
The toll has risen sharply since 2019, when the militia appears to have become more radicalised, carrying out massacres in remote villages and taking survivors hostage.
Guarded welcome for Kenyan troops in DR Congo flashpoint town
Kenyan soldiers poised to serve in the UN peacekeeping force in DR Congo have arrived in Beni but found a lukewarm reception in the flashpoint eastern...
