Fears for DR Congo census as rebel attack kills five in Ituri

The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels on Wednesday killed five civilians in troubled Democratic Republic of Congo’s eastern province of Ituri, local sources said.

The latest unrest stoked fears of disruption of a regional census due to be held Thursday across the country’s east, plagued by years of violence from a plethora of rebel groups.

A nationwide process to confirm voters on electoral rolls began in the west in December with central and south eastern districts added to the census last month ahead of presidential polls slated for December 2023.

Thursday was due to see the enrolment extended to seven eastern and north eastern provinces but the ongoing violence could hamper the process.

Volatile province

Ituri is a volatile province where at least 20 civilians were killed in weekend militia attacks, according to the UN and local sources.

Since the end of last year, numerous attacks by militants in Ituri, some linked to insurgencies, have left several dozen dead nearly every week and left thousands of people displaced.

The neighbouring province of North Kivu has also suffered repeated attacks attributed to the ADF, which originates from Uganda and which the so-called Islamic State group claims as its central African affiliate.

“There was an incursion (Wednesday) by ADF rebels in the locality of Bukima. They killed five people — a man, three women and a child,” said civil society representative Faustin Brazza, who added that two people were injured.

Confirmed tally

Babanilau Tchabi, the head of Brazza’s village group, confirmed the tally and said the repeated attacks had seen the bulk of the area’s residents leave the area fearing for their safety.

Tchabi said he hoped the joint efforts of Congolese and Ugandan forces to try to pacify the area would bring some respite and “reassure civilians” to allow the census to go ahead.

Brazza expressed doubts, asking: “How are people going to obtain their (voting) cards given this repeated insecurity?”

SOURCE

The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels on Wednesday killed five civilians in troubled Democratic Republic of Congo’s eastern province of Ituri, local sources said. The latest unrest stoked fears of […]

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UAE firms troop into Tanzania after President Samia’s visit

Two more United Arab Emirates companies have made in-roads into Tanzania, following President Samia Suluhu’s trip to the Gulf country last year to seek business.

On February 6, the Tanzania Forest Services Agency (TFS) and UAE-based Blue Carbon LCC announced a joint environmental conservation programme to promote sustainable forest management practices while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

It came after state-owned Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC) on January 27 signed a memorandum of understanding with Tanzania’s Ministry of Energy to invest up to $500 million in expanding the national imports gateway for fuel products and related storage facilities.

Presidential seal

President Samia’s administration has made the UAE a top target of its international economic diplomacy agenda since she assumed power two years ago. During an official visit to Dubai in February 2022, she made a personal appearance at the Expo Dubai festival where 36 bilateral MoUs were signed between Tanzania and UAE authorities for total investments of $7.49 billion.

The deals involved energy, agriculture, tourism, infrastructure and transport technology sectors. Tangible results of that trip have so far included a $500 million deal for Dubai-based logistics firm DP World to improve ICT and other infrastructural systems at Tanzania’s seaports and another agreement for UAE renewable energy firm Masdar to oversee the development of up to 2GW of renewable energy in Tanzania.

Oil terminal project

Tanzania also reached a formal agreement with UAE authorities in September last year to remove double taxation hurdles in mutual trade, investment and social interactions including labour payments, education exchanges (student bursaries) and sports matters.

A preliminary MoU for the latest oil terminal project was signed between ENOC Group CEO Saif Humaid Al Falasi and Tanzania’s Energy Minister January Makamba in Dodoma on January 27 and ministry officials later said formal negotiations would start “soon” on the project requirements and a detailed implementation framework.

SOURCE

Two more United Arab Emirates companies have made in-roads into Tanzania, following President Samia Suluhu’s trip to the Gulf country last year to seek business. On February 6, the Tanzania […]

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Ugandan exports to Rwanda flourish on food supplies, raw materials

Rwanda’s appetite for imports from Ugandan grew to a record $60.55 million in the fourth quarter of 2022 from $15.64 million in the first nine months to September as Kigali turned to her regional neighbours for food supplies and raw materials.

Latest Bank of Uganda trading data shows exports, which had stagnated in single-digit millions of dollars between January and September 2022, grew to an average of $20 million monthly between October-December.  

Ugandan economist Fred Muhumuza attributed the growth to lower harvests in Rwanda that necessitated food imports.

“The importer … has to import a lot of food to restock. In future, we might see export levels reduce,” he told local media in Uganda.

Highlights published in the East African Cross Border Trade Bulletin by the Food Security and Nutrition Working Group (FSNWG) show that Rwandan authorities were under pressure to provide adequate food and also ensure sufficient supply for raw material, especially for breweries.

Goods traded

The FSNWG data shows Rwanda breweries imported 3,991 tonnes of sorghum from Uganda, 2,065 tonnes of maize and 2,866 tonnes of rice from Tanzania.

However, small scale cross-border traders – who used to dominate the informal trade business – complain they have not fully benefited from the reopening of the border in January last year.

Previously most of the informal trade at the Gatuna-Katuna border was in foodstuff such as maize flour, rice, Irish potatoes and beans. But the traders say this has stopped because Rwanda now demands for licences to bring in goods.

The licence requirement has also drawn complaints from bigger exporters.

Kanakulya Mulondo, the secretary for security, environment and mediation at the Kampala City Traders Association, said traders remain sceptical about exporting to Rwanda.

“We remain cagey about the Kigali export market because our push to be compensated for losses when the border was closed in 2019 fell on deaf ears,” he said.

The association had sued Rwanda at the East African Court of Justice for closing the border. The court ruled that the closure of the border and restriction of Rwandan nationals from accessing Uganda was in violation of the East African Treaty rules of free movement across member states.

DR Congo

The association says some Ugandan traders now prefer markets in DR Congo, South Sudan and Burundi. Bank of Uganda data shows that in the region, DR Congo remains the biggest informal export market for Uganda, closely followed by Kenya, South Sudan, Tanzania and Rwanda respectively.

Before the closure of the border in 2019, Ugandan exports to Rwanda – predominantly cement and food – totalled more than $211m in 2018, according to World Bank figures, while Rwanda exported $13m worth of goods to Uganda.

John Lwere, the exports executive at the Uganda Export Promotion Board, said trade was just picking up after the reopening of the border a year ago.

SOURCE

Rwanda’s appetite for imports from Ugandan grew to a record $60.55 million in the fourth quarter of 2022 from $15.64 million in the first nine months to September as Kigali […]

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EAC army chiefs order full troop deployment to DRC

Defence chiefs from the East African Community (EAC) member states have directed the immediate deployment of troops from countries yet to join the regional force in Goma, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

The military bosses who met in Nairobi this week in the presence of the EAC Secretariat followed the bloc’s head of State’s directive last week to have forces on the ground but based on a timeline agreed on by the security chiefs.

In addition, they agreed to deploy troops to areas earmarked for M23 phased withdrawal and the protection of civilians in areas vacated by the rebels.

Although the finer details of the outcome of the meeting have yet to be shared, the chairperson and Burundi’s Chief of the Defence Force, General Prime Niyogambo, expressed hope that the deliberations will contribute towards creating lasting peace and stability in Eastern DRC.

“I am optimistic that the deployment of the remaining East African Community Regional Force (EACRF) contingent will expedite the regional forces to deliver on its mandate,” the chairperson stated.

Military strategy

The force was deployed as a peace enforcement unit but is yet to get the nod to engage the armed rebel groups since the regional leaders prefer political dialogue, placing combat as a last resort.

But piling pressure offensive against M23 and the fluid security dynamics that led to the killing of a United Nations peacekeeper from South Africa in an attack on their helicopter on Sunday could lead to a change in strategy in the approach to end the conflict in the region.

Also read: 8 dead in attack on UN mission in DRC

Currently, only Kenya has sent its troops to the eastern DRC under EACRF, with Ugandan and South Sudanese forces deployment allegedly dragged by delay in the issuance of permits by Kinshasa.

During the EAC 20th Extra-Ordinary Summit last Saturday, the presidents urged DRC to facilitate the deployment of troops from South Sudan and Uganda to the regional force.

Staffing officers from the Rwandan Defence Forces serving at the EACRF headquarters in Goma were expelled a week ago, as tensions flared following Rwanda’s shooting of a Congolese fighter jet at the border. However, no other decision has been made regarding the pull-out of Rwanda from EACRF.

Security

The rest of the Rwandan contingent has been situated at its border with DRC, as with the Burundi, Uganda and South Sudan forces.

Since the start of its mission in November, the EACRF troops have secured the Goma International Airport and offered protection for internally displaced persons and areas vacated by the M23 — Kibati, Kibumba and Rumagambo.

The Kenyan troops have also secured the Bunagana-Kiwanja-Rutshuru-Goma route, aided humanitarian assistance through Medicap and escort of humanitarian aid, and conducted joint patrols and training with the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC).

SOURCE

Defence chiefs from the East African Community (EAC) member states have directed the immediate deployment of troops from countries yet to join the regional force in Goma, eastern Democratic Republic […]

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