In hot Africa, in its central part
The long-standing and unresolved inter-ethnic conflicts in the Great Lakes region of the Black Continent resemble a giant sleeping volcano. If it explodes, the shock wave can cover Africa, as it once was. And the echoes of this explosion will be heard far beyond its borders.
ELECTION FEVER
The pre-election political struggle in Burundi reached its height in late April - early May of this year and turned into mass protests. The catalyst for an outbreak of popular discontent was the decision of the current head of state, Pierre Nkurunziz, to go to the polls for the third time, which, according to the opposition, is a violation of the Constitution. On the night of May 14, an attempt was made by a military coup led by General Godfroy Niyombare. President Nkurunziza was on an official visit to Tanzania at that time.
During the 14 – 15 in May, the mutiny of the military group was suppressed, the generals who led it were arrested. According to the Office of the UN High Commissioner, 20 people were killed during mass protests and insurrection, about 470 were injured, more than 105 people left the country. Elections of the President and the Senate postponed indefinitely.
HUTU AND TUTSI
The Republic of Burundi is a small country in Equatorial Africa, one of the poorest in the world, it borders Rwanda in the north, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in the west, and in the south and east it borders on Tanzania. According to the CIA Factbook, the population is just over 10 million.
Among them: representatives of the Khuttu ethnic group - about 85%, Tutsi - about 14%, pygmies less than 1% and there are a small number of immigrants from Europe, India and the Middle East. Most of the population over 86% are Christians. Official languages: Rwanda or Kinyarwanda (belonging to the Bantu language group, Niger-Congolese linguistic family) and French. There is one long-standing and still unresolved problem in the country - the conflict of two nationalities: Hutu and Tutsi.
These two ethnic groups live in a vast territory that includes all of Burundi and Rwanda, as well as the eastern lands of the DRC (both Kivu provinces), the southern regions of Uganda and the Tanzanian regions located in close proximity to the border with Burundi. Hutu mostly farmers, Tutsi - herders. The whole snag is that there is no obvious anthropological and cultural difference between these ethnic groups. Experts speak of Hamits' origin of Tutsis, but at the same time they note that they are genetically more similar to Hutus than other African nations.
According to historians, the ancestors of the Hutu - a branch of the Bantu people - came to the Great African Lakes region from the west in the 1st century, pressed the local tribes and settled on these lands. The ancestors of the Tutsi, the Hamites (like the Ethiopians) - came from the Horn of Africa, a warlike people, subjugated to the Hutus about 500 years ago. And from then until the mid-twentieth century, only representatives of Tutsis were the ruling class in the region. In the colonial period, first the German authorities, then the Belgian ones who replaced them, relied on Tutsis in the management of the territories then called Rwanda-Urundi. In the 50 of the last century, the situation changed. Tutsi has repeatedly revolted against the Belgian authorities. Therefore, the colonialists began to seek allies among the Hutu elite, and the Tutsis were persecuted. Moreover, the Belgian authorities put a lot of effort into inciting hatred between the Hutus and the Tutsis.
HISTORYWHICH IS WRITTEN BY BLOOD
In November 1959, the first mass clashes between Hutus and Tutsis took place on the territory of Rwanda-Urundi, which was under the administration of Belgium. In 1961 – 1962, Tutsi paramilitary troops intensified their activities, while at the same time a similar movement began to grow among the Hutus. Both fought with the colonialists and among themselves. After the departure of the Belgians in 1962, two independent states emerged on the territory of the former colony — Rwanda and Burundi, initially constitutional monarchies. The majority of the population of these countries are Hutu, and the ruling elite was from Tutsi representatives. The armies of these states, primarily the commanding personnel, were mainly staffed from Tutsis. In Rwanda, the monarchy was abolished soon after independence, and in Burundi only by 1966. Both countries became republics, ethnic conflict remained. Universal suffrage enabled the Hutus to take power into their own hands. In Rwanda, immediately following the establishment of a republican government, civil war broke out. The Hutu who came to power fought with the Tutsi partisans. In the same mode, all 60 passed in Rwanda. By the beginning of 80, most of the country's population, mainly Tutsis, immigrated to neighboring Zaire, Uganda, Tanzania and Burundi, where guerrilla groups were formed from among the refugees, which later, in 1988, united under the political leadership of the Rwanda patriotic front (RPF).
At the same time, a series of military coups took place in Burundi, and representatives of Tutsis came to power. But Hutu did not accept this state of affairs, the flywheel of the civil war began to unwind here. The first serious battles between government forces and Hutu guerrillas, united under the banner of the Burundi Labor Party, occurred in 1972. Subsequently, the authorities of Burundi held large-scale punitive actions against the partisans and the Hutu population, which resulted in the killing of 150 thousand to 300 thousand people. In 1987, a military coup brought Major Pierre Buyoya, of Tutsi origin, to power in Burundi. The dislocated ruler, Colonel Jean-Baptiste Bagaza, was also a Tutsi. The new dictator was then re-elected several times to the presidency, which he left only in 1993. He was replaced for a short time by the democratically elected representative of the Hutus, Melchior Ndadaye. The latter spent a little less than seven months as the head of state and parted with the authorities, as well as with life as a result of the next military coup. A new round of civil war was very bloody. According to official data, about 100 thousand people died in a short period of time. At the beginning of 1994, the belligerents reached a compromise in the negotiations; free elections were held in the country. A new Hutu president, Cyprien Ntaryamira, was elected, and the representative of the Tutsi Anatol Kanyenikko became the prime minister.
RABBE IN RWANDA
In 1990, a squad of 500 RPF fighters led by Paul Kagame entered the territory of Rwanda from Uganda. Thus, the Tutsis declared themselves at home by weapons. In Rwanda, a new civil war began. In the 1992 year, mediated by the Organization of African Unity, the opponents sat down at the negotiating table, but the fighting did not stop. The second round of negotiations, conducted with the French mediation, also did not produce results.
At the same time, the ruling party - the Coalition for the Defense of Democracy in the republic began to create a mass Hutu militia - "Impuzamugambi" (translated from Kinyarwanda - "those who have a common goal") and no less popular youth groups "Interahamwe" ( "Those who attack together"). 6 April 1994, while approaching the Rwandan capital Kigali, an aircraft was shot down by an unidentified person using an anti-aircraft missile carrying the President of Rwanda Juvenal Habyarimana and the President of Burundi Cyprien Ntaryamira (both Hutus). Everyone who was on the plane died. On the same day, the Rwandan military, police and Hutu militia blocked the capital and main roads. Central Television and Radio blamed the deaths of the presidents on the RPF rebels and the UN peacekeepers, a live call was made to destroy the Tutsi cockroaches. On the same day, Prime Minister Agatha Uvilingiyimana (Hutu) was killed, along with her 10 of the Belgian peacekeepers guarding her home were killed. This action was attended by the presidential guard and Hutu militia. At the same time, an RPF detachment of 600 men, quartered in accordance with earlier agreements on an armistice in Kigali, began hostilities against government forces and Hutu police. At the same time, the main actions of the RPF in the north of the country intensified military operations.
On the night of 8 on April 1994, a temporary government was created in Kigali, consisting entirely of Hutus, Theodore Sindikubwabo, one of the initiators of the massacre, became acting president. UN forces refused to provide protection to victims of massacres. During the 70 days of the massacre since 20 April, only in the province of Butare, over 350 thousand people were killed. In June, the murder rate was unusually high, according to human rights activists, killing an average of up to 72 people per hour. Only 22 June, the UN Security Council decided to deploy additional peacekeeping forces in Rwanda. By this time, the RPF army already controlled more than 60% of the country's territory. Tutsi guerrillas occupied the capital of 7 July. In total, then more than 1 million people died at the hands of extremists. Fearing revenge from the Tutsis, about 2 million Hutus fled to neighboring Zaire. The Tutsi RPF party came to power in the country. In April, 1994, their army did not exceed 10 thousand bayonets, and in July its number increased to 40 thousand.
FIRST KONGOLEZSKAYA
Along with 2 million refugees from Rwanda, the militants Impuzamugambi, Interahamwe and former soldiers of the Rwandan army (AR) left for about 40 thousand fighters who founded military camps near the border and made raids on the territory of Rwanda. President Zaire Mobutu, whose power began to noticeably weaken by the middle of the 90, used these forces for their own purposes and did not interfere with their activities, which caused discontent among the local ethnic groups.
The Rwandan leader, Paul Kagame, in one of his interviews, said that in the Zaire camps there were hiding the 1 killers of a million Rwandans, whose blood called for revenge. The RPF military began combat training for the Zaire rebels even before the start of the first Congolese war. Among them were not only Tutsis (whose local name is “banymasisi” in North Kivu and “banyamulenge” in South Kivu), but also many anti-government forces of Zaire. RPF troops were preparing for intervention. Uganda and Burundi acted as allies of Rwanda. Angola also favored the Kigali initiative, mainly because Mobutu worked closely with the organization of the Angolan insurgents UNITA. The RPF leadership conducted active diplomatic preparations for the war, as a result of which they managed to get political support from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Zambia and Zimbabwe, as well as approval from a number of Western countries, primarily the United States.
According to official information of those times, President Zaire Mobutu had on hand one of the most powerful armies (the Zaire – AZ army) on the continent. But as it turned out, this army was strong only on paper. In reality, its number did not exceed 60 thousand bayonets. The most reliable AZ compound was the Special Presidential Division (SPD) of about 10 bayonets. The combat readiness of the special military intelligence forces (SSVR) was also rated highly. The remaining troops were suitable only for punitive actions. Serviceable tanks, units of barrels and rocket artillery were few. Mobutu bought military aircraft and helicopters during the war. In reality, AZ was one of the worst armies in the world. And this despite the fact that instructors from Belgium, France, the USA and other countries were engaged in its preparation at different times. Zaire’s army was corroded by incompetence and corruption.
Mass protests in Burundi this spring. Reuters photo
CHRONICLE OF WAR
By September 1996, around 1, thousands of Banyamulenge fighters and 200 Banyamisi fighters had penetrated from Rwanda to Zaire and began preparations for combat operations. In October, the 10 battalions of the RPF army (about 5 thousand bayonets) invaded Zaire. These forces were equally divided for operations in the north in the Goma region and in the south in the Bukavu region.
The number of Zaire troops on the shores of Lake Kivu did not exceed 3,5 thousand bayonets. Three battalions stationed in the Goma area — two of the military intelligence forces and one of the 31 parachute brigade. Just north of Goma were located: one parachute battalion, one battalion of the National Guard and a company of military intelligence forces. In addition, there were about 40 thousand Hutu militiamen and former soldiers of the AR in the border area.
At dawn of October 4, the Banyamulenge detachments attacked the village of Lemera, where a military garrison and a hospital were located. The rebels subjected to mortar shelling of the position of AZ and attacked the enemy simultaneously from several sides, but did not surround, leaving the enemy a way to retreat.
At about October 16, a large column of rebel troops entered Zairian territory from the territory of Burundi and moved north to the cities of Uvira and Bukava. By the beginning of November, all major border towns were captured, including Goma, during which the Rwandan military boats supported the rebels with fire from the Lake Kivu. Kinshasa sent reinforcements to its forces: six field artillery batteries, an incomplete SPD battalion, SSVR units, but all was in vain.
In the autumn of 1996, the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire was formed by the rebels, Laurent Kabila, a Marxist, a follower of Patrice Lumumba and Ernesto Che Guevara was elected as the leader.
The UN responded to the outbreak of the war with a decision to send peacekeepers to protect refugee camps. The United States, Canada, and a number of other Western countries agreed to allocate military contingents for this. Plans for the alliance and the RPF collapsed before our eyes. Rwandans, to save the situation, immediately began to liquidate refugee camps and force the latter to return to their homeland. The paramilitary units guarding the camps were scattered, about 500 thousand refugees returned to Rwanda. The need to send peacekeepers to this region has disappeared. Most of the Hutu militia and former soldiers of the Republic of Azerbaijan retreated deep into Zaire, and many refugees left with them. It was at this time in Kigali, according to the testimony of General Kagame, it was decided to overthrow the Mobutu regime.
In the first days of December 1996, a rebel detachment of no more than 500 fighters successfully attacked the AZ garrison in the city of Beni, which had more than 1 thousands of bayonets. The rebels secured their right flank and discovered their way to the province of Upper Zaire. And this was the last time that the alliance publicly announced that the enemy had suffered great losses. In the future, the rebels spread only information about their humane treatment of government soldiers. This had a positive effect; AZ soldiers preferred to surrender without offering stubborn resistance to the alliance forces.
In mid-December, units of the Ugandan army entered the northeastern lands of Zaire to support the rebels. By the end of December, the alliance's troops seized all the eastern lands of Zaire and began to advance inland. By the new year, 6, thousands of rebels with the support of the regular units of Rwanda and Uganda, advanced in three main directions: in the north - through Upper Zaire to Isiro, in the center - to Kizangani, and in the south - along the shore of Lake Tanganyika.
At that time, General Mahel Bakongo Lieko led Zairian troops. The new AZ commander substantiated his command post in Kizangani. The troops subordinate to him were divided into three sectors: sector N (nord) covered Upper Zaire and the Kizangani area; Sector C (center) defended Kindu and the central regions of the country; sector S (sud) covered the province of Katanga.
Mobutu did not trust his army and attracted foreign mercenaries. In his "White Legion" there were about 300 "soldier of fortune". The legion was led by the Belgian Christian Tavernier. The actions of the mercenaries from the air covered four Mi-24 helicopters with Ukrainian and Serbian crews. These Mi-24 Mobutu bought in Ukraine. But military luck was not on his side.
AZ troops left the city of Watts 25 on January 1997 of the year. The rebels took the port of Kalemi 8 February, and Isiro got them 10 February. In mid-February, 1997, Angolan government forces entered the war on the side of the rebel alliance. The capital of Eastern Zaire, the city of Kizangani, fell on March 15. The rebels captured most of the entire fleet of Zaire artillery and military equipment.
The final act of this war and the fall of the Mobutu regime were practically lightning. The capital of the province of Katanga, Lubumbashi, came under the control of the 9 alliance in April. Alliance forces are rapidly approaching Kinshasa. The rate of insurgent offensive increased significantly and amounted to 40 km per day. Angolan troops also took part in the march on Kinshasa. Already on April 30, Kikwit passed under the control of the rebels, and on May 5 their troops approached Kenge (about 250 km east of Kinshasa). Here, the rebels unexpectedly met stubborn resistance from AZ troops and UNITA troops. The SPD battalion and about a company of UNITA fighters stubbornly defended the bridge across the Kwango River and even tried to counterattack several times, but they lasted no more than a day and a half and were forced to retreat because of the threat of complete encirclement. In this battle, the forces of the alliance suffered the greatest losses for the entire war. There were two more desperate attempts of the AZ forces to halt the alliance's offensive - in battles for bridges across the Bombo River (May 14 – 15) and Nsele (May 15 – 16).
Rebel troops appeared on the outskirts of Kinshasa on the night of 16 on May 17. Mobutu had already left the country by that time. The capital of Zaire was defended by about 40 thousand AZ soldiers, some of them were unarmed, and about 1 thousand UNITA fighters. Most of the generals fled the country after Mobutu. In order not to drown the capital in blood, the commander of AZ, General Mahele, began negotiations with the alliance, for which he was killed by supporters of the dictator. Kinshasa was in the hands of the 20 Alliance in May 1997. After the overthrow of Mobutu, Kabila became the new president. The country became known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The military casualties of each side did not exceed 15 thousand people killed. There is no exact data on civilian casualties. According to international human rights organizations, about 220 thousand Hutus were missing.
GREAT AFRICAN
After the rebels captured Kinshasa, the foreign allies, the troops of Rwanda and Uganda did not hurry to leave the territory of the DRC. Some parts of the Rwandan army were located right in the capital and behaved in a businesslike manner. In order to resolve the crisis, President Kabila (who took the name Desiree) 14 July 1998 retired Rwandan James Kabarebe from his post as Chief of the General Staff of the DRC Armed Forces and appointed the Congolese Celesten Kifua to this post. Two weeks later, the head of the DRC thanked the Allies for their help in the last war and ordered them to urgently leave the country. By August, Kabila began to negotiate with the Hutu militia about cooperation and supply them with weapons. Mass pogroms against Tutsis began in Kinshasa and other cities of the country.
In early August, two units of the Congolese army rebelled — the 10 I brigade in Goma and the 12 I brigade in Bukavu. On the morning of August 4, an aircraft with 150 soldiers of the RPF army landed at a military camp near the city of Cabinda, where they underwent retraining up to 15 of thousands of former AZ soldiers who joined the insurgents. Soon, the rebels, with the support of the Allies, seized a large territory in the east of the DRC.
By 13 August, Banyamulenge rebels and their allies captured the port of Matadi, 23 August fell to the city of Kizangani (the diamond center of the DRC). And at the end of August, the rebels and occupiers were already near Kinshasa and threatened with total blockade. In Goma, the Banyamulenge / Banyamasisi rebels and their supporting forces announced the creation of a new political association, the Congo Liberation Movement (MLC), which led the insurgent movement; An alternative Congolese government was created.
Military operations were conducted throughout the country. The combat formations of the government forces consisted mainly of isolated strongholds. MLC forces were advancing along the roads, there was no front line. The DRC army and its supporting forces were defeated almost everywhere, with rebel groups of insurgents operating on its operating lines. The situation of the DRC government was critical, the president frantically sought allies, appealed for military assistance to the governments of most African countries, and even tried to enlist the support of Cuban leader Fidel Castro.
Finally, President Kabila’s diplomatic efforts bore fruit. Zambia, Zimbabwe and Angola entered the war on the side of Laurent Kabila. A little later, troops from Chad and Sudan arrived in DRC. In September, paratroopers from Zimbabwe landed in Kinshasa and defended the capital from capture by the rebels. At the same time, units of the Angolan army invaded the territory of the DRC from the province of Cabinda and attacked the rebels. As a result, the rebels and their allies were forced to withdraw to the east of the country. Beginning in the fall of 1998, Zimbabwe began to use Mi-35 helicopters in combat. Angola also threw Su-25 aircraft purchased in Ukraine. The rebels in response effectively used the memory and MANPADS.
Kabile succeeded in retaining her power in the west of the country, but the east of the DRC remained behind the rebels, who were supported by Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi. Kinshasa was supported by Angola, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Chad, Sudan. Libya provided financial support to the DRC and provided combat and transport aircraft.
In early December, fierce fighting broke out for the cities of Moba and Kabalo on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, where the rebels and the opposing forces of the DRC and Zimbabwe suffered significant losses. As a result, the city of Moba remained in the hands of the DRC army, and Kabalo - in the hands of the rebels.
In December, hostilities began in the north of the country on the banks of the Congo River. The army of the DRC and its allies from the air was supported by the Sudanese aviation. The fights were with varying success. Towards the end of 1999, the great African war came down to the confrontation of the DRC, Angola, Namibia, Chad, and Zimbabwe against Rwanda and Uganda. In the fall of 2000, the government forces of Kabila (in alliance with the Zimbabwean army), using aircraft, tanks and barreled artillery, squeezed out the rebels and Rwandans from Katanga and recaptured most of the captured cities.
In the south of the country, the 2000 Squadron of the Zimbabwe Air Force was active in 8. It consisted of four Su25 (purchased in Georgia) with Ukrainian crews. Several dozen “crocodiles” (Mi-35) of the air forces of the Congo, Rwanda, Namibia and Zimbabwe fought in the air over the DRC, some of them piloted by aviation legionnaires from the CIS countries. In 2000, the Congo purchased in Ukraine 30 BTR-60, six MT-LB tractors, six 122 mm self-propelled howitzers 2 and 1 "Gvozdika", as well as two Mi-24В and Mi-24К helicopters.
The rebels did not have absolute unity in the ranks. In May, Ernest Huamba left 1999, and the Rwandan protege led the movement instead. Then the MLC collapsed into several factions that were hostile to each other. In August, clashes occurred between the Rwandan and Ugandan military in the city of Kizangani. Soon, Uganda signed a ceasefire agreement with the DRC. By a UN Security Council decision of February 24, 2000 of the French peacekeeper was sent to DRC.
16 January 2001, Laurent-Desire Kabila was killed by his own bodyguard. The post of president of the country was taken by his son Joseph Kabila. During 2001 – 2002, the regional alignment of forces did not change. Opponents, tired of the bloody war, exchanged sluggish blows.
In April, 2001, the UN Commission found evidence of illegal mining of Congolese diamonds, gold and other valuable minerals by the military of Rwanda, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
At the beginning of 2002, the Congolese rebels got out of control of the President of Rwanda, many of them refused to fight and went over to the DRC. There were clashes between the rebels and the Rwandan military. Finally, 30 July 2002, Rwanda and the DRC signed a peace treaty in Pretoria. And on September 6 a peace treaty was signed between Uganda and the DRC. On the basis of this 27 agreement, on September 2002, Rwanda began to withdraw its units from the territory of the DRC. It was followed by the other parties to the conflict. This formally ended the second Congolese war. According to various estimates, the year from 1998 to 2003 million people died in it only from 2,83 to 5,4.
In May, a civil war broke out between the Congolese tribes of Hema and Lendo. In June, the Tutsi 2003 raised an anti-government insurgency in South and North Kivu. Colonel Laurent Nkunda (a former ally of Kabila Sr.), who founded the National Congress in Defense of the Tutsi People, became the next rebel leader. The fighting of the DRC army against the rebel colonel lasted for five years. This was followed by an uprising of the group "M2004" in April 23, which swept the east of the country. In November of the same year, the rebels managed to seize the city of Goma, but soon they were knocked out by government forces. During the conflict between the central government and the M2012, several tens of thousands of people died, more than 23 thousand people were forced to leave their homes.
TURNOVER OF THE WAR
In the DRC, the situation remains unstable to this day. The country has one of the largest contingents of peacekeepers, according to the UN Security Council resolution, the number of blue helmets (MONUSCO) is provided within 19 815 people. Currently in DRC there are about 18,5 thousand military personnel and 500 military observers MONUSCO, as well as 1,5 thousand police officers. Peacekeepers are fighting with various paramilitary groups, operating mainly in the east of the country.
During the Great African War, the government in Kinshasa was helped by: China, Libya, Cuba, Iran, Sudan, North Korea. The donors of Rwanda and Uganda were the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark, Germany and the United States. As it turned out, this support was not provided free of charge. To some extent, this war has affected Russia, Ukraine and other former Soviet republics. Transport aviation, most of the combat aircraft and helicopters of each of the opposing sides were piloted by Russian and Ukrainian pilots, and served by technical personnel of the same national composition.
During the war, Rwanda and Uganda exploited diamond mines and deposits of rare metals in the east of the DRC. Angola traded oil and diamonds, Zimbabwe controlled copper and cobalt mining in Katanga. The most attractive for businessmen was tantalum (Ta), which is used in the manufacture of computers and mobile phones. Its large deposits are located in the south-east of the DRC. Tantalum mined in the Congo is called “colombo-tantalite”, abbreviated as “coltan”, exported per month to 200 and its ore. The largest consumers of this metal are the USA and China.
In the east of the DRC, the fighting is still going on. In Rwanda, the next presidential election must be held in 2017, whether they will be free is unknown. Since the end of July, 1994 has been in power in the Tutsi country, the presidential post is occupied by the representative of this people, Paul Kagame. Let me remind you that the majority of the population of Rwanda - Hutu, which is dominated by Tutsi.
In Burundi, the postponed presidential and senate elections this year will be held sooner or later. Three forces are fighting for power: those who want harmony between Tutsis and Hutus; those who cherish Tutsi hegemony, and those who desire Hutu primacy in the country. The most interesting thing is that the last two currents, irreconcilable enemies, are now united. The situation in Burundi is now vaguely reminiscent of the one that was in Rwanda in the spring of 1994 of the year. No one can guarantee that the process of political struggle in Burundi will not go into an uncontrolled phase and the flywheel of the conflict that once led to the great African war will not unleash again.
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