DR Congo: M23, Evidence of Crimes Against Humanity amongst the lies.

Congo DRC News reports, ( this is a M23 website and as such a work of fiction particularly following M23's defeat at the hands of the Congolese army FARDC ) It is translated from French by an unknown translation service and I have attempted to clean it up, all translation mistakes are mine.

WITHDRAWAL OF M23 IS NOT A SIGN OF WEAKNESS

                                                                                                  M23 Rebels

Sunday, October 2013 27, the rebels of the "M23" took the decision to abandon some of their positions. These are Kiwanja, Rutshuru, Rubare Rumangabo, etc.. A courageous act that was interpreted by the government, not only as a sign of weakness, but as a victory for the government forces of rebellion. And yet, it was far from this: it is in no way a sign of weakness and even less a victory for government forces. It is a withdrawal after a long period of internal consultations. We had to avoid a bloodbath in cities where the population would be the victims of violence that could be avoided. That's what M23 wanted to avoid. But what has happened ?

Whilst I have come to expect lies from M23, they have a major problem running this line. 

" We had to avoid a bloodbath in cities where the population would be the victims of violence that could be avoided."

The New Zealand Herald reports.

GOMA, Congo (AP) The Congolese army took three towns in eastern Congo Sunday in fresh fighting against the M23 rebels, said the army spokesman.

The army says it has found two mass graves in Kibumba, a town it took on Saturday, according to the provincial governor.

The army on Sunday gained control of Rutshuru, Kiwanja and Buhumba towns in the Rutshuru area of North Kivu province, near Congo's border with Rwanda, army spokesman Lt. Col. Olivier Hamuli told The Associated Press.

There will be more discovered as the Congolese Army reasserts Congolese control over the rebel held territory.  M23 presents as a domestic Congolese organisation, they are actually Rwandan terrorists and we can be sure that more evidence of their crimes against humanity will come to light. The DR Congo doesn't often make the mainstream news in New Zealand and as a New Zealander I am saddened that it should do so for this.

CTV News ( Canada ) reports

" In Kibumba, the army discovered two mass graves, North Kivu Governor Julien Paluku told AP. The army has been ordered not to touch the graves so that they can be investigated by the government and the United Nations peacekeeping mission to Congo."

I can only hope that those responsible are identified and brought to justice.

Deployment Brigade MONUSCO Kiwanja

On 16 October 2013, the special services of M23 based Kiwanja report ten "Puma" helicopters of MONUSCO at Kiwanja Airfield.  Service agents manage to infiltrate the MONUSCO operation and see things up close. Their report is explicit: it was a contingent of about 300 Tanzania, South African and Congolese FARDC soldiers.

The most daring members of the contingent sought to establish military positions in the area known as the Kamulima (near the residence of a chieftain of the PPRD, former RCD and native Nyanzale). They were challenged by the M23 forces and returned to the MONUSCO base at Kiwanja.

This account is of course contradicted by the media reporting on the defeat of M23 and whilst one can choose who to believe it is clear to me where credibility lies and it isn't with M23. More from CTV News. 

" United Nations forces are not participating in the fighting, but are in armoured personnel carriers and jeeps with mounted machine-guns several kilometres behind the army forces."

The day began with clashes at Kibumba followed by those Mabenga Ngwenda and then the joint forces looked for M23 on the battlefield, the operations of the joint quota (undercover MONUSCO) began at night as they infiltrated Kiwanja and armed civilians. On the third day of the general government attack (the fronts of Kinyandonyi of Kahunga and Kibumba), the coalition forces were retreating everywhere. Civilians armed by the joint quota forces began to push throughout Kiwanja. Fortunately, in less than an hour, police intervention dissuaded them  from continuing.

Again this isn't backed up any way by accounts from reporters on the ground.

" The population of Kiwanja indicates that in the last hours of fighting, the M23 rebels fought in civilian clothes before retiring to 9 pm local time to Bunagana, a border post with Uganda." 

I have no doubt the " armed civilians " were M23 rebels who fearing death had removed their uniforms. Had they been armed civilians then I doubt very much there would be an M23 member alive today to make up this crap.

The following day  about ten o'clock in the morning, the defensive line of M23 at Kahunga had reached the Mabenga bridge the uniformed FARDC brigade arrived at Kiwanja with the UN Intervention Brigade, as well as hundreds of civilians armed with Kalashnikovs, who appeared in almost all the streets and avenues of Kiwanja.

Again we can discount this version of events, it however strikes me that if you are going to lie it would be wise to try and disguise the lie in a way that is at least credible to the gullible, this is something that M23's sponsor Rwanda also struggles with.   

The police could not contain the horde, however, they held them in waiting until the arrival of a group of M23 rebels came to Rutshuru to cover the retreating M23 forces, back from the Kahunga Mabenga front. They  carried out an orderly withdrawal through Kiwanja and Rutshuru, firstly, to avoid the trap of FARDC-FDLR-BRIGADE/UN coalition had set for M23 of shooting the armed civilians and being accused of massacring civilians, and, on the other hand, to retreat to the Bunagana base.

Bunagana is a border post between the DR Congo and Uganda, you can draw your own conclusions.

DR Congo: Dr Antoinette Kankindi is an idiot

Congo DRC News reports ( This is a M23 site )


BAD FAITH FROM THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

                                     MONUSCO UN Peacekeepers In congo In in action.Are This ( sic ) guys peace keepers really?

By Dr Antoinette KANKINDI (Mushakipager)

So Kinshasa and M23 went to Kampala, and we know as a fact of experience that Kinshasa is not about to negotiate. And we also know where the stubbornness is coming from: Kabila’s support from the so called international community. This is no speculation. We do not need to speculate anymore from the moment we saw the UN forces fighting M23 with the FDLR. Ladsous saw in that the best way of defeating M23. However, we also know M23 was not defeated since they retreated freely to allow CIGRL to push for political solutions. Now one wonders why, if we need political solutions, it is not the UN department for Political Affairs that takes the lead. When it comes to the Kivu, you wouldn’t even know that that department exists due to the huge activism and presence of Mr. Ladsous department. This is France at its best, changing definitively the narrative on the Kivu political problems: they want them to appear as Rwandan problems, and in so doing, exonerate Kinshasa of any responsibility as well as giving themselves to pick a fight with Rwanda using the genocidaires. This discourse will be sung again at the UN general assembly this year.

 

Well my first reaction is that Dr Antoinette Kankindi is an idiot if she thinks she can get away with this sort of historical revisionism when the events she refers to are still fresh in the memories of those involved. 

Both M23 and Kinshasa went the Kampala talks with anything but good faith, both had an hidden unspoken agenda. Kinshasa went for the sake of appearances and M23 to buy time for Rwanda to reinforce them with both weapons and personnel. 

It isn't so much that the International Community supports Kinshasa rather the International Community is sick to the death of Rwandan support for M23, Rwandan lies and infact the Rwandan regime. MONUSCO and the Intervention Brigade ( Africa Brigade ) have as part of their updated mandate, the suppression of armed groups and to protect the territorial integrity of the DR Congo. M23 clearly fits into the category of an armed group and there can be no doubt it is a huge threat to the territorial integrity of the DR Congo. 

As for the statement M23 " retreated freely to allow CIGRL to push for political solutions." they didn't, they were routed, we also seem to have a bit of a problem with the timing. President Museveni called the International Conference for the Great Lakes Region ( ICGLR ) around September 1, the annihilation of M23 preceded this by a good week, it was infact one of the main reasons for calling the emergency meeting of ICGLR. I think we can safely call bullshit on that particular attempt to rewrite history by Antoinette Kankindi. 

It is funny how the international community suddenly becomes just France. I think that that rather overstates French hegemony. Could I suggest the author removes her head from her arse and checks out the US State Department's position. 

On the other hand, I am not interested in it really. I was even shocked to hear that M23 would be willing to disarm if FDLR are also disarmed.  Absurd, because for one the political problems of the Kivu imply the FDLR too, but they are first and foremost a problem of development, which the FDLR have made worse with the increase of IDPs to add to refugees and the looting of local resources, for example. So, of course FDLR are absolutely unacceptable. But even if they were to be disarmed, our local political problems will still stand. And they are the same in Kamina or Isiro, Mbanza-ngungu or Mwene Ditu, Kalemie or Lisala, etc…The bad faith of the international community I want to deal with is that they have tried hard to transform the conflict, only to avoid what they fear most: that the Kivu seeks its own autonomy. And mind you I know the usual voices will accuse me of balkanization inclinations, haha. Autonomy does not mean total independence, a clarification for people with narrow views on political action.

As I mentioned above the extended mandate of MONUSCO is quite unequivocal it requires the suppression of all armed groups and that includes the FDLR. Reading this rubbish one could be forgiven for thinking that M23 have not created one refugee or one Internally Displaced Person. It is of course yet another lie. M23 have displaced hundreds of thousands of people and created thousands of refugees.

Autonomy means in the M23 context either a client state of Rwanda or the Rwandan annexation of the DR Congo's eastern provinces. The International Community does not support this and the people of the Eastern DR Congo don't either. The only way that Rwandan ambitions in the DR Congo could be realised is by a plebiscite of the community and an unequivocal vote to support such a development. That is never going to happen. Democracy means having the support of the majority. "...a clarification for people with narrow views on political action."

 

However, our people should understand two things: 1) that the solution to our problems starts from that autonomy; 2) That such autonomy simply means that participatory political action works better from the local level, so does production which creates economic growth. We must all understand this and it is valid not only for the provinces in the DRC but for the whole of sub-saharan Africa. Local politically well structured governance also limits the levels of corruption as it is likely to respond to the needs of the people rather than power politics. It is for these two reasons that I am convinced of the need to keep the DRC as a country but with a greater autonomy of each of its provinces, beginning from the Kivu that never tire to fight for the freedom of our people. But then this will require more transparency  even on the part of the International Community in its dealing with a country endowed with strong local politics and strong local economy. For the starters, the zillion of NGOs such IC promotes will be the first casualties,  next the whole cooperation discourse will need a redefining. How can our vultures of the IC allow that? You understand why they are obsessed with portraying the DRC problems as Rwandan??? We will be observing what is “NOT” happening in Kampala.

Ok autonomy does not mean " total independence " but it does mean " participatory political action at a local level. "  Fortunately  Charly Kasereka reported on some autonomy recently in Goma, my best efforts at translating it from French are here. It would seem that the participatory political action at a local level was fairly much united by a desire to see M23 stopped permanently. In fact if anything it was a call for the government to engage more not for further disengagement. As for the economic growth argument again Chary Kasereka gives us a few helpful observations on the M23 autonomists contribution to the economy of Goma. 

Currently, there is not much for sale in the Goma markets, and everything has become very expensive: corn, green beans, milk, all basic food products… Before, a 100 kg bag of cassava cost between 25 to 30 US dollars; today, this amount costs in the 45 to 50 dollar range [35 to 40 euros]. And, for instance, a kg of green beans, which used to cost half a dollar, now costs almost a full dollar [0,80 euros]. These basic food products have nearly doubled in price! In a city where the population is already very poor...."

"...When the rebels took Rutshuru in early July, the M23 rebels put up numerous roadblocks and now undertake lengthy inspections of each trucks’ contents. On his last trip, he was taxed about 350 dollars [285 euros] for his cassava cargo. Before the rebels came, he used to pay at most only 50 dollars [40 euros] in taxes. ..."

In other words the woman is an economic ignoramus " strong local politics and strong local economy " I really haven't got a clue what she is talking about but the economy of Goma is totally reliant on the " zillions of NGO's " I am guessing here but it sounds like they are the vultures she is referring to guys like Médecins Sans Frontières who are working there butts of to provide medical services unlike those saints of M23 who are raping and killing at the behest of Dr Antoinette Kankindi. Finally yes I do understand why the International Community are portraying the problem as the fault of Rwanda and Rwanda can fix that very quickly by stopping interfering in the eastern DR Congo.

DR Congo: 1152 Rapes per day.

Media Global News reports

UN officials and civil society push for female inclusion in Congo peace building

             Displaced Women in northeast DRC’s North Kivu province. Photo credit: UN Photo/Sylvain Liechti

On July 25, the United Nations Security Council urged "full and prompt" implementation of previous agreements in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Great Lakes region. At the meeting, Mary Robinson, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Great Lakes Region, discussed the importance of incorporating women into peace building efforts.

With more than 5.4 million dead since the outbreak of war in 1998 and 6.4 million people currently in need of emergency aid, the body condemned attacks by the March 23 Movement (M23) and other armed groups as well as mass rapes in the region.

Think about that death toll. It is the worst since the World War II and the world has, by and large ignored it. We owe the people of the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, it is time for the world to pay the bill. The price isn't very high but the cost to us of not paying the bill is our humanity. Six and a half million people need our help they only want what we have security be it food, physical safety, or justice. 

Robinson also underscored the importance of adopting "zero tolerance of gender-based violence" in the Peace, Security and Cooperation (PSC) Framework, a plan signed on February 24 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia that aims to protect the civilian population and establish peace in the region.

Since the signing of the Framework, increased efforts have been made by civil society groups and UN officials such as Robinson to create an "inclusive peace dialogue" aimed at incorporating women and other minority groups into peace building efforts. With an average of four Congolese women raped every five minutes, women are often the most affected by the conflict yet are the most isolated from discussion.

Think about that. That is 1152 rapes per day. Annually 420,489 rapes. And the world has tolerated this. We have allowed rape to become a weapon used against civilians. 

"Women are critical in this 'inclusive peace dialogue' not only because they are 50 percent of the population but also because they bear the brunt of the conflict. They are active peace builders and they are the mediators and facilitators in conflict resolutions efforts," explains Mavic Cabrera-Balleza, International Coordinator for the Global Network of Women Peace builders (GNWP), to MediaGlobal News.

At a July 23 panel discussion titled "Women's Messages for Action in the DRC and the Great Lakes Region," global representatives, including Cabrera-Balleza, aimed to discuss developments in issues facing the DRC and draw attention to the "alarming rates of conflict-related sexual violence" in the region.

The discussion, sponsored by The Permanent Missions of Australia and Uruguay to the UN, as well as non-profits GNWP and Amnesty International, also worked to update the panel on two fundamental updates in female inclusion efforts: the April "Women's Peace Dialogue" in Kinshasa, DRC, as well as the July regional conference on "women, peace, and development" in Bujumbura, Burundi, spearheaded by Special Envoy Robinson and civil society actors.

According to Cabrera-Balleza, while the April Women's Peace Dialogue was proceeding in Kinshasa, a mass rape of 200 women occurred in Eastern Congo's "Province Orientale."

She noted that at the Dialogue, two Congolese ministers conceded that the government had completely lost control of certain portions of the country, like "Province Orientale." Therefore, it is important to support civil society efforts in the region to continue development projects and fill the void.

What is even worse is that Kinshasa has also lost control of the Congolese Army ( FARDC ) in those provinces who along with the armed rebels such as M23, FDLR and numerous others are committing these rapes .  

An inclusive peace dialogue "has not been convened until today because of the fragmentation among various sectors in the country and within each sector, within government agencies and even within civil society," Cabrera-Balleza tells MediaGlobal News.

The "Kinshasa Call to Action," created at the Women's Peace Dialogue, listed demands directed toward the DRC government, African Union member states, and signatories of the PSC framework in regards to female protection.

The July Bujumbura regional conference, on the other hand, created an action plan for the implementation of the PSC Framework. The meeting united more than 100 female civil society leaders and eventually led to the adoption of the plan by Burundi, DRC, and Rwanda.

Rwanda. I am so sick and tired of the constant cynicism of that regime. Much of the instability in the the Eastern DR Congo can be laid at Kigali's feet. 

In addition to developing a "road map" for women's engagement and inclusion in peace initiatives, the July conference established the "Donor's Group," which commits to accessible funding toward women's projects in the Great Lakes region.

After participating at the July Conference, Rosine Sori-Coulibaly, UN Resident Coordinator and Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Burundi, expressed that "it was a very fruitful meeting."

"Women were happy to see that the Special Envoy was taking the contributions of women very seriously. They have come up with concrete actions that can be undertaken in terms of gender based violence," Sori-Coulibaly tells MediaGlobal News.

She continued that it is important to incorporate women in the dialogue because "women are often left out although they are the ones most affected by conflict."

Although recent additions of women into government have occurred, there remains a "wide institutional gap in terms of governments' leadership in adapting laws" and "gender parity in access to public institutions," explains Elsie Effange-Mbella, Senior Gender Advisor at the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO)'s Office of Gender Affairs, to MediaGlobal News.

Women account for about half of the population and 60 percent of the work force but currently, women's representation in government is only 16 percent, added Effange-Mbella.

The government of DRC sent a delegation to the Bujumbura conference, where they helped create a "communication platform" as well as a donor-funding program in order to support female involvement in the implementation of the PSC Framework.

MONUSCO held a debriefing on the Bujumbura conference on August 5, explains Effange-Mbella, where female political leaders were honored and women's groups united to urge more girls to join the army.

Regardless of these attempts, GNWP's Cabrera-Balleza, in a statement to MediaGlobal News, criticized MONUSCO's role in empowering women amidst conflict and claims that more should be done in terms of monitoring.

In terms of "advancing" the women's rights agenda, "MONUSCO has not performed well," Cabrera-Balleza tells MediaGlobal News.

Going forward, Cabrera-Balleza underscores, it is important to monitor what mechanisms MONUSCO will implement that will "guarantee women civil society representation" and that they provide more "concrete support" for female survivors of sexual violence.

This past week Special Envoy Robinson highlighted that in 20 years of "killings, rape, destruction, and displacement," women have "suffered most."

"Women's voices should not only be heard because they are the victims of the war. Their active participation in peace efforts is essential because they are the most effective peace builders," continued Robinson. "I believe they are the region's best hope for building lasting peace."

My fear is that this will be ignored. Talk fests are unfortunately common when it comes to the DR Congo. 

DR Congo: The end of a beginning ?

Reuters reports 

Congolese warlord arrives at war crimes court jail

Rebel General Ntaganda Bosco (2ndL) walks escorted by comrades on January 11, 2009 at his mountain base in Kabati, 40km north west of the provincial capital Goma. Democratic Republic of Congo rebel leader Bosco Ntaganda left Rwanda on March 22, 2013 with International Criminal Court

(Reuters) - A Congolese warlord known as "the Terminator" who is accused of murder, rape and other atrocities arrived at the International Criminal Court's jail in the Netherlands early on Saturday, the court said.

The date is somewhat amusing. He arrived at the Hague on March 23.  

Bosco Ntaganda, who walked off the street and gave himself up at the U.S. Embassy in Kigali in a surprise move on Monday, was flown in a private jet from the Rwandan capital to The Hague after being handed over to the court's custody.

A few days ago I blogged,

" That is not so much throwing down the gauntlet as taking a theoretical AK 47 and and emptying a magazine into Ntagada's chest. "

I was however astonished at how quickly Ntaganda's fall occurred. Jason Stearns at Congo Siasa    throws a bit of light on the situation.

   

Why did Bosco surrender?

His time was up. On February 24, an internal battle had broken out among the M23, pitting Bosco's wing against that of Sultani Makenga (for more information about Bosco's career and the divisions within the M23 see the Usalama Project's briefing here). While Bosco led a large group of soldiers––at least 500 were reported to have crossed the border on 14 March––he was short on ammunition. After weeks of fighting, he decided to run.

In the context of armed groups in the Congo 500 men is a reasonable force. As Stearns points out had Rwanda wanted to keep him in the revolutionary business it would have been a simple exercise to resupply his arsenal. One must assume his funding had dried up and that his control over the informal revenues extorted from the people of the Eastern DR Congo had ended.

After a 15-year career that spanned a series of Rwandan-backed rebellions in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, he will appear in court on Tuesday for the first hearing in a process that could lead to him being put on trial for war crimes.

Jason Stearns in the same blog observes. 

" Rwanda's role is also curious. Reliable reports point to Rwandan backing for the M23 up until the capture of Goma on November 20, 2012. Since then, however, support appears to have declined (perhaps also because there has been a de facto truce with the Congolese army during the Kampala negotiations). However, if the Rwandan army had wanted to prevent the implosion, they most likely could have. Also, if they had wanted to solve Bosco's ammo problem, they could have easily sent bullets and mortar rounds across the border. So why didn't it? Had the aid cuts affected its view of the conflict, and the M23 squabbles looked like a way out?"

I find it difficult to believe that we are  witnessing the end of Rwandan interventions and the attitude of the regime remains openly hostile to the international community.  

Ntaganda was most recently a commander in the M23 rebel movement, but his position weakened after the group split in two.

His removal from the conflict creates an opportunity to secure a peace agreement to end the year-old rebellion in a region dogged by conflicts.

Actually I doubt this. This story quotes the same Stearns that I have been leaning on. I prefer this from his blog to the excerpts quoted in the Reuters story.

In part, it strengthens Makenga's hand––he is now rid of a large faction of his officers and political leaders who had been a thorn in his side. While he has probably lost over a third of his troops to death or defection, he has rationalized his military chain of command and now has more reliable politicians to represent him in Kampala. While he is now rid of all of the officers with serious legal problems (except himself), it is unclear whether this will result in a peace deal in Kampala. M23 delegates say that they can't accept the terms proposed by Kabila, which amount to integration with almost nothing in return. In particular, they insist on good ranks, political positions, the return of refugees, and a generous amnesty. As one of Makenga's officers told me today, just before a meeting of the officer corps, "Alituambia: vita ingali. Kungali njia mrefu." (He told us: there is still war. The road is still long).

Ntaganda's surrender was the first time an ICC suspect had voluntarily handed themselves over to be in the court's custody.

Yes well when you are down to your last chance as they say make sure it is a good one. I guess this way he emerges with his life and eventually liberty.

He asked stunned U.S. officials at the embassy to be transferred to the court, where he will face charges of recruiting child soldiers, murder, ethnic persecution, sexual slavery and rape during the 2002-3 conflict in northeastern Congo's gold mining Ituri district.

His whereabouts had been unknown after hundreds of his fighters fled into Rwanda or surrendered to U.N. peacekeepers last weekend following their defeat by a rival faction of M23 rebels in the mineral-rich eastern Congo.

"Bosco thought his choice was the ICC or probable death," said Jason Stearns of the Rift Valley Institute.

Exactly.

VICTORY FOR VICTIMS

That is quite the stupidest sub title I have seen in quite some time. Maybe, just maybe it provides some hope for the living victims that the world might learn of the situation in the eastern DR Congo as a result of the evidence presented against  Ntaganda.

Foreign Minister Louise Mushikiwabo said Ntaganda flew out of Kigali in the custody of ICC officials following cooperation between the Rwandan, U.S. and Dutch governments.

A Reuters witness had seen a blacked-out U.S. Embassy vehicle under police escort drive along the perimeter of Kigali international airport. Shortly after, a private jet took off.

His first courtroom appearance, to confirm his identity, will be on Tuesday morning, the court said in a statement.

And really that is the end of this chapter. It will be interesting to hear the evidence against and the defense arguments for Ntaganda again I thought that Jason Stearns nailed it with this observation. It is taken out of context.

"....The Rwandan government opposes the ICC, and is probably concerned by some of the revelations that Bosco could make on the stand. After all, Kigali backed the UPC armed group for whose crimes Bosco is now answering, as well as the CNDP and M23.  .... "

With an arrest warrant hanging over him, Ntaganda and his backers were seen as an obstacle to peace between the M23 and the Congolese government that the rival faction had shown signs of warming to.

"Bosco's arrest won't bring peace to the eastern Congo, but Bosco's arrest does spell a victory in the battle against impunity and the dismantling of one of the barriers to a peace process in the country," Stearns said.

The trial of Rwandan-born Ntaganda could prove an embarrassment to the Rwandan government, which has denied charges by a United Nations panel that it backs the M23 rebels.

I guess some credit is due to Rwanda if they did force Ntaganda to give himself up but it may well have been that they were presented with a fait accompli, Stearns again. 

The second version, supported by ex-CNDP officers, diplomats and Congolese and Rwandan intelligence agents, suggests that Bosco slipped across the border, evading detection and eventually arriving at the US embassy in downtown Kigali. According to this version, he took advantage of his contacts in the Rwandan army, as well as his ethnic kin and family in Ruhengeri, to escape arrest. There have even been reports of Rwandan intelligence agents being arrested for failing in their duties to detect him.

If the reports of arrests of Rwandan intelligence officers is correct then I think that it might well be a indication of the Rwandan attitude towards this. I for one am not prepared to give Rwanda the benefit of any doubt at this stage.

ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda might seek to add additional charges related to rebellions that followed the alleged Ituri crimes, analysts said.

Wars in Congo have killed about five million people in the past decade and a half, and many eastern areas are still afflicted by violence from a number of rebel groups despite a decade-long U.N. peacekeeping mission.

"Bosco Ntaganda's arrival in The Hague will be a major victory for victims of atrocities in eastern Congo," said Geraldine Mattioli-Zeltner, international justice advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. 

It will be a start and a humble start as well.