WAR CRIMES AND ATROCITIES (True Crime) (41 page)

Until the Sudanese government can feel the pain, not the profit, of its policy of violence and dispossession, it is feared that there will be no incentive to end the killing. There is certainly a definite need for international prosecutions to deter ongoing atrocities in Darfur. With attacks still being reported in the Darfur region, the UN has now authorized 20,000 troops to replace an under-equipped force of 7,000 African Union peacekeepers in Darfur. However, the Sudanese government, who has denied any part in the killings or any alliance with the Janjaweed, has refused to allow the peacekeepers into their country. This on-going persecution of the innocent population of Darfur will be a long and difficult problem to solve.

Uganda’s Atrocious War

1988–present

With the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan capturing the media headlines, little attention has been given to the brutal atrocities that have been taking place in Uganda during the past 18 years. Uganda has always been thought of as one of the more successful African nations, and in most respects it is, but perhaps one of its greatest achievements is the fact that it has hidden its bloodthirsty war from the rest of the world for so long. The list of atrocities committed under the name of war is cannibalism, sex slavery, massacre, rape, torture and displacement.

COMPLEX WAR

The war in Uganda is a complex one that involves a brutal rebel group called the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), which has abducted thousands of children and forced them to become either fighters or sex slaves. The rebels are led by Joseph Kony, whose group has become synonymous with torture, abductions and mass killings. The LRA’s war was with the Ugandan government or the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), whose undisciplined army has also committed crimes against civilians, the very people they are supposed to protect. As the war continues into its 19th year, an estimated 1.9 million Ugandans have been displaced and are still being ignored and unprotected from the abuses they receive at the hands of both the rebel and army forces.

LORD’S RESISTANCE ARMY

The LRA operates in the north from bases in southern Sudan. It is led by a former Catholic altar boy by the name of Joseph Kony, who seems to believe that his role in life is to cleanse the Acholi people. His army demands that Uganda be ruled according to the Bibical Ten Commandments, and Kony himself uses biblical references to explain why it is necessary to kill his own people. He told one of his captives, ‘If the Acholi don’t support us, they must be finished’. Kony sees himself as a spirit medium and makes up his own rules. He is thought to have as many as 60 wives, as he and his senior commanders take the pick of the girls they abduct. He has created an aura of fear and mysticism that seems to ‘hypnotize’ his rebels into following his strict rules and rituals. One young fighter who escaped from the LRA told a representative of the Humans Rights Watch, ‘When you go to fight you make the sign of the cross first. If you fail to do this, you will be killed.’

The LRA has committed many serious abuses and atrocities, including the abduction, rape, maiming and killing of civilians, including many children. Many of the children and young adults were abducted for training as guerillas. Other children, mainly girls, were sold, traded or given as gifts to arms dealers in Sudan in exchange for weapons. The children were taken to a secret base where they were terrorized into virtual slavery either as guards, concubines or soldiers. They were beaten, raped and forced to march until they were exhausted, and many were compelled to participate in the killing of other children who had tried to escape. The LRA built up their numbers by the abduction of children, and in 1998 alone it is believed as many as 6,000 were taken and used as soldiers.

One young boy reported abuse at the hands of the LRA, when they falsely accused him of joining the government forces. They tied him down and told him not to cry or make any noise. Then a man sat on his chest while others held down his arms and legs. The boy pleaded with the rebels not to kill him, and as he cried one man picked up an axe and chopped off his left hand, then his right. After that he cut off his nose, his ears and his mouth with a knife. The young boy’s ear was sent in a letter warning people against joining the ADF.

Tens of thousands of teenagers who are not prepared to take the risk of being abducted, either sleep out in the bushes or walk into urban centres to sleep in the grounds of hospitals or in the shelter of shop doorways. There is fear, however, that so many children sleeping in one place might be an easy pickings for the rebels.

On 25 July, 2002, 48 people were hacked to death near the town of Kitgum, which is in the far north of Uganda. Elderly people were reportedly killed with machetes and spears while babies were flung against trees. Ugandans were shocked by the brutality of the attack when they read the headlines the next day.

The LRA have been linked with Sudan because they allegedly support the Sudan People’s Liberation Army, which is the rebel movement fighting against the Sudan government. Although Sudan officials deny this liaison, in February 2003 they agreed to let troops from Uganda enter its territory to attack the LRA rebels. The Ugandan army, who had been after the LRA for 18 years, asked the rebels to surrender or be defeated. By early 2003 there was growing optimism that the years of fighting could soon be over. Members of the LRA declared a cease-fire and said they wanted to hold talks with Uganda’s president, Museveni. They agreed to stop all their ambushes, abductions and attacks, but this amnesty had little real effect. In June 2003, Joseph Kony told his fighters to destroy Catholic missions, kill priests and missionaries and brutally assault the nuns.

OPERATION
 
IRON
 
FIST

In March 2003, keen to distance itself from the accusations of supporting international terrorism, the Sudanese government agreed to assist in the fight against the LRA. Ugandan troops crossed into Sudan and launched large-scale raids against known LRA strongholds. An estimated 10,000 Ugandan troops were involved in the latest offensive, which became known as ‘Operation Iron Fist’.

At first the Ugandans claimed success over the LRA, but their ebullience was to be short-lived when the rebels mounted a series of new attacks. Hundreds of Sudanese civilians were killed as the LRA were pushed further north by the Ugandan army. Far from knocking out the LRA forces, Uganda’s ‘Iron Fist’ led to a new round of butchery and abductions.

Despite the gruesome results, the Ugandan government continued its operation, which – as Human Rights workers feared – has simply led to more bloodshed. The LRA attacked the Acholi-Pii and Maaji refugee camps, the Pabo IDP camp, and many villages and communities within the area. These attacks have resulted in the most horrific deaths, abductions and widespread displacement of civilians. In the attack on Acholi-Pii alone, it is believed that as many as 24,000 people were forced to leave the camp, and six teenage girls were taken away and never seen or heard of again.

Many of the abducted girls become pregnant and give birth to their baby while in captivity. This makes it much harder for them to escape as they fear for the life of their infant, and those who do manage to get away, usually bear lifelong scars. It is believed that as many as 50 per cent of the girls who are abducted have contracted HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) and virtually 100 per cent have sexually transmitted infection as a result of sexual abuse.

Even though so-called ‘protected camps’ have been set up to try and help the victims of the Ugandan conflict, overcrowding and lack of facilities has led to widespread disease and poverty rather than protection from the LRA. There is little support for the victims of gender-based violence due to under-funding and lack of backing from the government.

AN END IN SIGHT

The fact that this conflict has been allowed to continue for 19 years is proof that there has been little positive action to create a lasting peace in Uganda. In October 2005, the International Criminal Court, which is based in The Hague, announced arrest warrants for Joseph Kony and four of his top associates. The charges included mutilation of civilians and the forced abduction of and sexual abuse of children. However, some Ugandans feared that this would only invite further conflict as the LRA members were certain to want avoid facing a trial.

In July 2006, representatives for the LRA took part in a series of peace talks with the Ugandan government in southern Sudan. Joseph Kony was not present at any of the meetings and was believed to be in hiding in the Congo to avoid prosecution for war crimes. The LRA tried to portray themselves as freedom fighters against President Museveni, but their ploy was useless as they had alienated themselves with the Ugandan people through their use of brutal tactics.

It is understandable that the Ugandan government is skeptical of the LRA’s promises, given the fact that it has committed some of the worst humanitarian atrocities in the history of war, with devastating consequences. Nearly two million people have been run out of their homes and forced to live in overcrowded, squalid camps; tens of thousands have died, 30,000 children have been abducted, and hundreds of villages have been destroyed or abandoned.

The current peace talks are the closest the two sides have ever come to reaching a comprehensive agreement and Uganda now needs to know that the UN will be a supportive ally. The need to create incentives for both sides is paramount, so that the foundations can be laid for long-term reconstruction and reconciliation. It is feared that if this latest agreement breaks down, then peace will be a long time in coming to the people of Uganda.

Crimes In The Congo

1998–2003

The war that took place between 1998 and 2003 in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been equalled to that of World War II. It is estimated that as many as 3.3 million people died as a result of the war, with the vast majority dying from starvation or disease due to the activities of the complex assortment of armed fighting forces operating in the country. Despite the fact that the Congo is an area rich in natural resources – diamonds, oil, uranium, gold, water, fertile land and exquisite wildlife – it became the object of a conflict that got completely out of hand and was dubbed ‘Africa’s first world war’. Despite the supposed cessation of hostilities in 2003, tensions are still high today.

It is the largest interstate war in the history of Africa and involves nine other African nations, as well as a further 20 armed groups. It is very difficult to understand the reasons for this conflict, due to the fact that there are so many players involved, but an easy way to explain it is that there are nine rebel groups in the Congo who are all fighting to overthrow governments in neighbouring countries. On top of that they all want a part of the region’s riches. The internal conflicts were originally fuelled by ethnic struggles to gain power and riches for people that have never known either. Throughout the years of fighting the Congo became the subject of one of the worst human-rights situations in the world, leaving a trail of carnage, including massacre, rape, child abuse, kidnap and even canibalism.

MASSACRES

Tensions between the Hema and the Lendu tribes, who share fertile land close to the Ugandan border, have existed for many years. About 200 people died in brutal ethnic massacres in the early part of 2001 in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. After the bloodshed, vehicles went around the town parading severed heads that had been spiked on sticks.

The atrocities were not just limited to these two tribes, however. The Rwandan army and a Kigali-backed rebel groups have also been known to have carried out brutal and systematic massacres.

In May 2002, a massacre was carried out by the Rassemblement Congolais pour la Démocratie-Goma (RCD-G). The RCD relied on the military and political support of neighbouring Rwanda in its control of approximately 40 per cent of eastern Congo. The RCD soldiers entered the civilian neighbourhood of Mangobo and carried out indiscriminate killings of civilians, numerous rapes, beatings and widespread looting. They also arrested a large number of Congolese military and police who they suspected might be involved in a mutiny, which had taken control of the radio station and called for help in tracking down the Rwandans. These officers were executed on the nights of 14 and 15 May on the Tshopo bridge. They were ordered to lie down with their hands bound behind their backs and were then either shot or hacked to death with machetes, or had their throats slit. It is reported that many of the bodies were decapitated before being put into weighted-down plastic sacks and thrown over the side of bridge into the river. Other executions are known to have taken place at an abandoned brewery, the Bangboka Airport and the military barracks at Camp Ketele. Although members of the Human Rights Watch have been unable to identify the RCD officers implicated in these abuses, they stated that what had taken place amounted to war crimes.

Massacres continued throughout the Congo during 2003–2005. US officials are negotiating with Rwanda, Uganda, the Congo and Burundi to try and find a way of dealing with the armed rebel groups. Working in close coordination with the African Union, the EU and the UN, the US hopes to be able to reduce the amount of violence, which is estimated to be taking as many as 1,000 lives each day. Their ultimate goal is to try and bring stability and security back to the people of the Congo, something which they haven’t experienced for a long time.

In April 2003, nearly 1,000 people were massacred in the Ituri region of the Congo. The clashes between the Hema and Lendu tribes started out as a simple dispute over land but have since escalated into a far more volatile situation. When UN investigators were taken to the site of the massacre at Drodro, they saw about 20 mass graves with traces of fresh blood still visible. The victims bore the signs of tribal fighting with slashes from machetes, stab wounds and mutilation.

In May 2003, two rival groups – the Hema and Lendu tribes – fought for control in Ituri’s largest town, Bunia. After the killing spree an eerie calm hung over Bunia, with dead bodies littering the now empty streets. The rebels had left behind their trademark as blood dripped from the machete slashes, the spear thrusts and bullet wounds. Other corpses had started to decay and were being eaten by packs of wild dogs. In the central marketplace, women’s bodies littered the ground and a baby’s body – a grim reminder – lay on the main street. Two priests had been killed while praying inside a church and the remains of a burning corpse lay on the UN compound’s lawn.

The massacre began when the UN withdrew its troops in accordance with a recent peace agreement. The violence had been widely predicted and so it was no surprise when the Lendus took the town of Bunia, forcing 250,000 people to take flight. The remaining 12,000 pressed against the razor wire of the UN compound, screaming, as they tried to escape the machete-wielding militia. Women clutched their babies to their chests as they watched in horror as their families and neighbours were slayed. Many more bodies lay in front of the mud huts, which the militia had smashed to pieces. The death toll was approximately 350 people, and most of the bodies were later buried in simple, unmarked graves.

Two unarmed UN military observers were found dead about 65 km (40 miles) outside of the village. They had been mercilessly murdered and one had been disembowelled. The women, natives of Jordan and Malawi, were not even involved in the conflict – they had simply been sent there to gather information about the armed groups operating in Ituri.

Days after the massacre, the main Hema militia, the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) took control of Bunia. Their reputation was little better than the Lendu’s, as their fighters are estimated to have massacred as many as 10,000 Lendus. Child fighters of the UPC went through Bunia, looting what they could from the remaining houses and off the corpses, showing no respect whatsoever.

In July 2005, 39 civilians were murdered in the village of Ntulumamba, a village in the south Kivu region of the Congo. The victims, mainly women and children, were locked inside their huts, which were then burnt to the ground. The rebels responsible were believed to be from Rwanda, who fled to the Congo when they were accused of taking part in the genocide that left some 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus dead.

There is also considerable evidence that there were many atrocities committed against women during the Congo War. Women have been reportedly tortured, genitally maimed, raped and killed – at times disembowelled to kill a foetus along with its mother. These are the type of atrocities that have taken place out of sight of UN peacekeepers. Mass rapes were often carried out to try and demoralize their enemies, and there are reports of women being buried alive after ramming sticks into their vaginas. In addition to the mental and physical injury suffered by women, there is also the risk of pregnancy and they are particularly vulnerable to contracting HIV because their bodies are open to infection. Women have also been abused in jails and forced into sexual slavery, including a number who have been victims of intimidation.

CANNIBALISM

Cannibalism has been added to the long list of atrocities that have allegedly been carried out by the tribal groups fighting in the Congo. Some of the bodies found at Bunia and other villages had been decapitated, others had their hearts, livers and lungs missing. It has been reported by witnesses that the rebels literally ripped out their victims’ hearts and ate them while they were still warm. Militiamen have allegedly grilled their victims’ bodies on spits over a fire, and two young girls were boiled alive while their mother watched on. Vital organs were said to have been cut off and used as magic charms to ward off evil spirits. In 2003, Zainabo Alfani told UN investigators that she had been forced to watch rebels kill and eat two of her children. She also said that in one corner of the camp she saw cooked flesh from bodies and another two bodies being grilled on a barbecue.

THE CURRENT SITUATION

Despite the fact that the UN peacekeeping mission has stepped up its efforts to combat armed rebel groups in the Congo, the insecurity and violence continue to torment the African civilians. Today it is estimated that there are still as many as 38,000 Congolese civilians dying each month, that is about 1,250 each day, either as a direct result of violence or preventable diseases and malnutrition.

For the first time in 40 years, 18 million Congolese went to the polls on 30 July, 2006. They voted for a new president and national assembly and, in general, the voting was a peaceful and well organized affair.

Congo’s president, Joseph Kabila, was declared the winner of the elections by the Independent Electoral Commission of the Democratic Republic of Congo on 15 November, 2006, and following the results he called for calm. The final outcome was the culmination of a four-year transition process which was designed at bringing democracy to the troubled African nation after decades of dictatorship and war. However, Kabila’s rival, Jean-Pierre Bemba, released a statement saying that he was not prepared to accept the election result and his supporters disputed that the figures released were inaccurate. Election officials have rejected any claims of fraud and state the the polling was, in general, fair. The UN peacekeeping force stepped up its security for fear of renewed fighting, and it appears that the election results will do nothing to bring peace to the long-suffering people of the Congo.

CONGO REBEL CHARGED WITH WAR CRIMES

Thomas Lubanga, leader of the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) militia group, is the first person to be charged of war crimes at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. The charges against him include recruitment of child soldiers, murder, torture and rape. The ICC was set up in 2002 to deal with war crimes and genocide worldwide. Lubanga was arrested in 2005 after nine Bangladeshi UN peacekeepers were killed in the volatile Ituri district. He is thought to be one of the most notorious warlords of the 21st century and, soldiers under his command, are accused not just of murder, torture and rape, but also of mutilation.

Although the ICC has also issued arrest warrants for leaders of Uganda’s rebel Lord’s Resistance Army, they are currently being given amnesty by the Ugandan government and so no action can be taken.