Rebel movements in the DRC as sub-national terrorists and the need for appropriate counter initiatives

Theo Neethling

doi:10.4102/td.v10i3.184

Abstract

The word “terrorism” has been used in various political and policy contexts, and studied in several scholarly disciplines. Most contemporary writing on terrorism focuses on the international dimensions or manifestations of terrorism. However, in Africa, sub- national terror (and even state terror) has been a feature of conflict on the African continent. This ranges from amorphous internationally connected groups in which people locally band together around a religious paradigm, to rebels who terrify civilians in civil wars, e.g. the armed movements in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Specifically, the north-eastern and eastern parts of the DRC have been major conflict zones where sub-national or domestic terrorists employed and continue to employ terror as a strategy. This paper examines rebel movements in the DRC as a phenomenon of sub-national terrorism – a phenomenon that manifests in life-and-death struggles over access to mineral resources and where there is a clear correlation between conflict and the accumulation of resources.

Highlights

Despite a commendable effort of the United Nations (UN) since 1999 to bring peace and stability to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the country continues to face several challenges that pose a constant threat to the fragile transition and undermine its security
This paper examines rebel movements in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as a manifestation of sub-national terrorism
Premised on the work of Lancaster et al (2011:4), one of the following approaches could be pursued when engaging or dealing with rebel movements or domestic terrorism in the DRC: Firstly, in accordance with the “statebuilding school”, rebel movements should be viewed as a law-and-order issue that could be reduced to irrelevance in relatively small portions of land where small-scale banditry has in any event, over many years, constituted their primary business

Summary

Introduction

Despite a commendable effort of the United Nations (UN) since 1999 to bring peace and stability to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the country continues to face several challenges that pose a constant threat to the fragile transition and undermine its security. Several non-state armed movements or militias posed a continuous security threat in the DRC, most notably the Rwandan-rooted Forces Démocratiques de Libération du Rwanda (FDLR) and the former Congrès National pour la Défense du Peuple (CNDP), currently functioning as the ‘reorganised’ M23. FDLR elements (amongst others) were responsible for gross violations of human rights in the form of attacks on civilians and the systematic raping of women (Orievulu 2010) Another serious challenge for the DRC government in the post-2006 period came from the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a guerrilla group originally from northern Uganda, but residing in the northeastern parts of the DRC. This came to an end in November 2013 when the MONUSCO intervention force forced the M23 out of Goma and other occupied towns

Rebels in the DRC as a manifestation of sub-national terrorism

Pursuing a positive outcome in the DRC

Findings

Conclusion