Tensions Continue in North-Kivu as Peace Conference is Postponed.

MISNA
27 December 2007

The opening of the Conference for Peace, Security and Development in the provinces of North and South Kivu, which was scheduled for today in Goma, was postponed to January 6. “Preparation works will start today, while from tomorrow until January 4 we will be involved in the sensibilization, participants designation and finalization of work documents,” said father Apollinaire Malu Malu, head of the Indipendent Electoral Commission (CEI) who was nominated to direct the peace conference’s works. “This delay is not surprising,” Kinshasa newspaper ‘Le Potentiel’ reported today. According to the paper, the conference was postponed “due to a not very serious preparation.” As late as two days ago, the newspaper reports, “facilitators’ names were still unknown, as well as the order of the day and the crucial points which had to be debated during the conference.”

In the past few days civil society in the region expressed concerns over the organization of the conference, which was called in order to find a solution to the conflict which erupted in August between pro-Rwandan dissident general Laurent Nkunda’s militias and the regular army (FARDC). Hundreds of thousands of civilians were forced to flee their villages in the past few months due to high insecurity in the area. Today, further tensions erupted in North Kivu. According to the FARDC, soldiers repulsed an infiltration attempt led by rebels in the region of Kalengera. A UN, FARDC and Congolese police joint troup was attacked by civilians on its way to the area. A policeman was wounded and two vehicles were damaged by a launch of stones by a group of reportedly 1,000 people who accused the UN Mission to Congo of not helping FARDC in its fight against the rebels. The UN Mission and its 4,500 soldiers have been ensuring a logistic support to almost 25,000 FARDC soldiers in North Kivu.