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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KINSHASA 000126 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/01/2017 
TAGS: PGOV KPKO MOPS CG
SUBJECT: FIGHTING ERUPTS BETWEEN BANYAMULENGE TROOPS IN 
MINEMBWE REGION OF SOUTH KIVU 
 
 
Classified By: PolOff CBrown, reasons 1.4 b/d. 
 
¶1. (C) Summary: Limited fighting between Banyamulenge 
(Congolese Tutsi) troops of non-integrated brigades of the 
Congolese Armed Forces (FARDC) and of dissident armed forces 
broke out in the Minembwe region of South Kivu province 
January 25 and continued sporadically through January 29. 
Details concerning the origins of the fighting remain 
unclear. MONUC and the FARDC report the situation is 
currently under control but remains volatile. Transitional 
Vice President Azarias Ruberwa, whose RCD party has fought to 
defend the interests of the Banyamulenge, does not believe 
the attacks were part of a larger effort to target the 
population of Minembwe. End summary. 
 
¶2. (C) A skirmish broke out late January 25 between elements 
of the non-integrated 112th Brigade of the FARDC, commanded 
by General Patrick Masunzu, and elements of the so-called 
"Moramvia Group" led by Colonel Michel Rukunda. Both sides 
are from the same Congolese Tutsi subgroup known as 
Banyamulenge (singular: Munyamulenge). The fighting occurred 
in Bijombo, about 25 miles west of Uvira. 
 
¶3. (C) MONUC officials told us it is still not clear who 
fired first or what prompted the incident. They suspected 
Rukunda's group initiated the fighting after Masunzu arrested 
a local territory administrator, a fellow Munyamulenge, for 
meeting earlier in the week with a dissident military leader, 
Colonel Venant Bisogo, who commands the so-called "Group of 
47" in the Minembwe area. 
 
¶4. (C) Low-level fighting between the 112th and the Moramvia 
Group continued through January 28 when shooting temporarily 
ceased. Hostilities picked up the morning of January 29 when 
some of Rukunda's forces attacked positions of the 112th in 
Kalingi, six miles east of Minembwe. Masunzu then called for 
reinforcements, including elements of the 12th Integrated 
Brigade (most of whom are non-Banyamulenge), to attack 
Rukunda's headquarters in Ilundu just a mile from Masunzu's 
own headquarters in Minembwe. 
 
¶5. (C) Shooting continued January 29-30 in various locations 
of the High Plateau region. Masunzu claims to have pushed 
Rukunda's forces back nearly 20 miles north of Minembwe and 
forced Bisogo from his headquarters in Kilombo, about 30 
miles north of Uvira. Some of Rukunda's troops reportedly 
attacked a battalion of the 12th IB January 29 in Lemero, 50 
miles north of Uvira, capturing two soldiers. 
 
¶6. (C) MONUC officials who have spoken to both Masunzu and 
Rukunda report that at least five soldiers from Rukunda's 
ranks were killed and seven were injured. Two of Rukunda's 
officers, both reportedly captains, were captured by 
Masunzu's troops. Masunzu claims five of his forces were 
wounded in the fighting. As of January 31, the general High 
Plateau region was quiet with no reports of renewed fighting. 
MONUC's chief military spokesman Lt. Col. Didier Rancher in 
his weekly press conference January 31 said the situation in 
Minembwe was under control and urged the Congolese not to 
over-dramatize the incident. 
 
-------------------------- 
UNDERLYING ETHNIC TENSIONS 
-------------------------- 
 
¶7. (C) The fighting is partially a result of the underlying 
ethnic tensions in South Kivu and highlights growing splits 
within the Banyamulenge community itself. The 112th Brigade 
commander General Patrick Masunzu led Banyamulenge troops 
throughout the DRC's civil war. The brigade is composed 
mainly of Banyamulenge and believed to have about 400 
soldiers. Masunzu was assigned as the 4th Military Region 
Deputy Commander in Western Kasai in 2004. He left that area 
soon after his appointment to return to Minembwe, his 
birthplace, claiming he had to "defend" the interests of the 
Banyamulenge. He is technically on "administrative leave" 
from the 4th Military Region and has been allowed to operate 
freely in South Kivu, thanks to his close relationship with 
President Kabila and the assent of FARDC commanders in the 
province. 
 
¶8. (C) Rukunda and the Moramvia Group are dissident 
Banyamulenge FARDC troops who split from Masunzu in late 2005 
over Masunzu's leadership and the alleged mistreatment of the 
Banyamulenge community by the FARDC. Rukunda is believed to 
have approximately 100 troops under his command spread 
 
KINSHASA 00000126  002 OF 003 
 
 
throughout the region, and he claims to enjoy some degree of 
support among a heavily-armed civilian population. 
 
¶9. (C) The Group of 47 is made up of Banyamulenge soldiers 
once loyal to Colonel Jules Mutebusi who fled the country in 
2004 after the siege of Bukavu. The group, numbering less 
than 100, infiltrated back into the Minembwe region a year 
later. 
 
¶10. (C) Relations among the three groups have been strained 
the past two years, but there has never been large-scale 
fighting that spread beyond their immediate area. Despite the 
common ethnicity of Masunzu, Rukunda and Bisogo, all three 
are competing for the support of the High Plateau 
Banyamulenge, leading to intense rivalries, particularly with 
Masunzu. Each wants to be considered the primary military 
leader of the regional community and refuses to back down to 
challenges from the others. Bisogo and Rukunda are alleged to 
have formed a loose alliance in the past month, reportedly 
even combining their forces in some areas. 
 
------------------ 
RUBERWA'S REACTION 
------------------ 
 
¶11. (C) The Minembwe fighting caused immediate concern in 
Kinshasa among officials with the Rally for Congolese 
Democracy (RCD), including Transitional Vice President 
Ruberwa. Ruberwa, who has championed the cause of the 
Banyamulenge, held late-night meetings January 29 at his 
house in Kinshasa with other Tutsi and Banyamulenge leaders 
to discuss the situation. 
 
¶12. (C) Ruberwa told the Ambassador January 30 that Masunzu 
initiated the attacks on Rukunda. (Note: Masunzu is a 
longtime opponent of the RCD, part of the complicated 
politics of the community. End note.) Ruberwa said he had 
spoken  by phone that day with DRC Air Force Commander 
General John Numbi and FARDC Land Forces Commander General 
Gabriel Amisi, both in Goma, for an assessment of the 
situation. Ruberwa indicated he had received assurances from 
unnamed officials -- but presumably Amisi and Numbi, among 
others -- that Masunzu had not received specific orders to 
initiate an attack. He said he also planned to meet in person 
with FARDC Chief of Staff Kisempia Sungilanga January 31. 
Ruberwa added that he did not believe the fighting was part 
of an effort to target the Banyamulenge community. 
 
¶13. (C) Ruberwa characterized the current conflict as a fight 
for influence and control of the greater Banyamulenge 
community. Ruberwa said he believes the current situation has 
the potential to develop into a wider intra-ethnic battle. He 
said the Banyamulenge are combative by nature and will not 
back down, unlike the soldiers in many other FARDC units, 
risking instead to keep on killing each other despite such 
actions being to their disadvantage. 
 
¶14. (C) Ruberwa added that the immediate objective in 
Minembwe is to end the fighting. He suggested the best next 
step available would be to begin a "mixage" of dissident 
forces with those of the FARDC. (Note: "Mixage" is process 
meant to create new brigades by combining "renegade" 
Congolese troops and elements of the FARDC's non-integrated 
brigades, and  leaving them stationed in their current 
operational zones. End note.) A similar "mixage" is currently 
underway in North Kivu with elements loyal to renegade 
General Laurent Nkunda and non-integrated FARDC brigades. 
 
-------------------------- 
A BANYAMULENGE PERSPECTIVE 
-------------------------- 
 
¶15. (C) Masunzu and other South Kivu officials claim that 
Masunzu's arrest of the local administrator, which may have 
triggered the latest fighting, was unjustified. Enock 
Ruberangabo, a Munyamulenge from South Kivu, told PolOff 
Group of 47 commander Bisogo had been invited to the 
administrator's residence by 10th Military Region commander 
General Sylvain Tshikwej to discuss the possibility of having 
the Group of 47 disarm and integrate into the FARDC. Such 
discussions have been ongoing between Bisogo and FARDC 
officials for the past year, but have gained momentum in the 
last few months. 
 
¶16. (C) Ruberangabo said Masunzu was either apparently 
unaware of Tshikwej's decision to call Bisogo to Minembwe or 
 
KINSHASA 00000126  003 OF 003 
 
 
he chose to blatantly ignore it and arrest the administrator. 
Rukunda repeated the same story to MONUC officials in Uvira, 
saying Bisogo was in Minembwe at Tshikwej's invitation. 
Ruberangabo said Masunzu used the Bisogo meeting as "proof" 
local officials were planning a conspiracy with dissident 
forces. 
 
¶17. (C) Ruberangabo said he suspects Masunzu may also have 
acted without authorization from Kinshasa or FARDC 
authorities in an effort to maintain his authority in 
Minembwe. The 112th Brigade has in the last two months been 
going through the demobilization and military integration 
process, which Masunzu initially opposed. Ruberangabo and 
MONUC officials speculated that Masunzu's attack on Rukunda 
may have been a deliberate attempt to halt the demobilization 
process and to demonstrate that his continued presence in 
Minembwe is essential to the region's stability. 
 
--------------------------------- 
FARDC COMMANDER TO VISIT MINEMBWE 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶18. (C) General Tshikwej is reportedly planning to visit the 
Minembwe region to assess the situation. Numbi and Amisi, 
both currently in Goma, told Ruberwa they also plan to send 
representatives to the area and may travel there themselves 
in the next few days. A joint MONUC-FARDC delegation may 
travel to the area from Uvira as soon as February 1. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
COMMENT: FACTS UNCERTAIN, BUT NO CAUSE FOR ALARM YET 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶19. (C) Comment: What precipitated the Minembwe fighting, as 
well as what actually occurred and how serious it was, is 
difficult to determine, as each side has vested interests in 
blaming the other for the hostilities. The fact that Ruberwa 
does not seem to be laying blame for the fighting on the 
Presidency or the FARDC high command indicates the situation 
is largely localized and can be contained. But signs of 
Banyamulenge "aggression," real or imagined, could jeopardize 
the participation of the RCD and Ruberwa in the 
yet-to-be-formed government, potentially contributing to 
Ruberwa missing a government appointment and moving him into 
the ranks of the political opposition. President Kabila's 
recent visit to South Kivu, however, was very likely focused 
on the security issues stemming from the High Plateau region, 
indicating Masunzu may not have acted independently. 
 
¶20. (C) Comment continued: Rukunda and Bisogo appear to be 
repeating the recent history of renegade General Laurent 
Nkunda and Ituri militia leaders who have used military 
pressure to force negotiations with the GDRC, creating more 
favorable terms for "surrender." The fighting in Minembwe, 
though, carries ramifications far beyond South Kivu, 
especially as military instability in the East often results 
in political instQility in Kinshasa and more than passing 
interest in Rwanda. Any perceived attacks on the Banyamulenge 
could risk reprisals from Nkunda and his Tutsi loyalists in 
North Kivu. Fighting involving the Banyamulenge in particular 
is politically sensitive and carries repercussions in the 
capital. This current battle is a new factor and goes against 
the historical record of the complicated politics in the 
region, since the Banyamulenge have traditionally been a 
unified group arrayed against outside influences. End comment. 
MEECE