VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHKI #0884/01 2071129
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 261129Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY KINSHASA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6599
INFO RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK

UNCLAS KINSHASA 000884 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREF PHUM PGOV PREL CG OA
SUBJECT: ANGOLAN EXPULSION: TOTAL OF CONGOLESE ARRIVALS 
RISES FROM 16,000 TO 26,500 
 
REF: A. KINSHASA 318 
 
     ¶B. KINSHASA 1600 
     ¶C. BAILEY-HALL EMAIL 07/13/07 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Initial news reports of Congolese expelled 
from Maludi, in Lunda Norte, Angola, were exaggerated, but 
the numbers continue to grow. Assessment teams confirmed in 
mid July that 13,000 displaced Congolese arrived in West 
Kasai and some 3,000 others in Katanga since July 3. They 
said the 16,000 displaced Congolese were mistreated by 
Angolan authorities and were in need of humanitarian aid. 
Latest MONUC figures indicate the number of displaced has now 
risen to roughly 26,500, including an additional 10,000 
arriving in Katanga and 1,000 in Western Kasai who arrived 
the previous week. Some humanitarian agencies expect an 
additional 30-40,000 displaced Congolese to arrive in Western 
Kasai alone by the end of the year. End Summary. 
 
------------------------------------------- 
ANGOLAN MILITARY CLEARS DIAMOND MINING AREA 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) MONUC and NGO reports have confirmed that a new wave 
of expulsions of Congolese living in Angola began on July 3 
when Angolan military authorities started chasing out illegal 
miners from Maludi, a diamond mining town 80 km from Dundo, 
the capital city of Lunda Norte. News sources including 
Reuters, Radio Okapi and the BBC reported in the second week 
of July that 13,000 had arrived in Western Kasai and between 
13-15,000 had arrived in Katanga since July 3. However, MONUC 
and NGO assessment teams reported in mid July that the 
Katanga figures had been exaggerated and that a total of 
16,000 Congolese had arrived in both provinces. 
 
¶3. (SBU) An internal MONUC report of July 12 stated that 
15,000 Congolese had been ordered to leave Maludi. It stated 
that 3,000 were forcibly moved by truck to Katanga, 2,000 had 
fled across the border on foot, and 10,000 were hidden in 
surrounding forest areas in Angola. Similarly, a July 14 
Joint Commission including the World Food Program, UNICEF, 
and local authorities reported some 3,400 displaced in 
Katanga: 3,000 in Kapanga and some 400 at Kasamayi near the 
Angolan border. The report claimed there were roughly 500 
women and 60 children amongst the displaced. 
 
¶4. (SBU) CARITAS is present in Western Kasai and estimated in 
a July 12 report that over 12,000 of those expelled were in 
the province, mainly in the villages of Kawakala, Kabungu and 
Kamako in Tshikapa. Its assessment report said roughly 4,000 
of these were women and children. That same day DRC Minister 
of Humanitarian Affairs Jean-Claude Muyambo told us he agreed 
with the number of displaced, but estimated two thirds of 
them were women and children. Acting Western Kasai Governor 
Hubert Mbingho however provided us a lower estimate of 800 
women and children. 
 
¶5. (U) During the second week of July CARITAS DRC Charg de 
Liaison Christina Kaiser told us that while initial 
displacement reports were exaggerated, thousands more were 
waiting on the Angolan side of border to cross into the DRC. 
MONUC announced July 25 that 10,000 additional Congolese 
arrived in Katanga and 1,000 in Western Kasai during the 
previous week. OCHA official Christophe Illemassene 
speculated that up to 30-40,000 additional Congolese could 
arrive in Western Kasai alone by the end of the year based on 
a July 20-21 assessment by a joint team including UN agencies 
and CARITAS. Another OCHA official involved with the 
assessment stated that a minimum of 9,000 Congolese were 
still waiting to cross into the DRC. 
 
----------------- 
FORESEEN MOVEMENT 
----------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) According to the July 12 MONUC report, Kapanga 
administrator Zakari Ikombe was coordinating with Lubumbashi 
civil authorities and the Angolan Embassy to guarantee safe 
passage to the DRC for Congolese hiding in the Angolan 
forest. The report said the Angolan Security Post commander 
in Mwakamika had agreed to grant safe passage for women and 
children, but stipulated that men must do three days of 
manual labor for the Angolan army before leaving. 
 
¶7. (U) Kaiser told us rumors were circulating that the 
displaced persons were moving towards Tshikapa in Western 
Kasai, since many of them originate from that province. 
Kaiser also said some were planning to return to Angola while 
others wanted to return to homes in the DRC. Local 
 
authorities said their priority was to ensure expelled 
Congolese return home as quickly as possible. When we met 
with UNHCR Chief of Mission Bob Rodrigus, he said some of the 
displaced Congolese may have been expelled before and 
returned to Angola because they had no where else to go. 
 
---------------------- 
HUMANITARIAN SITUATION 
---------------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) The Joint Commission report claimed the Congolese 
had suffered imprisonment, forced labor, confiscation of 
goods and body cavity searches. It said they were generally 
traumatized and in weak physical state upon arrival in the 
DRC. The report also said three people died in an unspecified 
prison and one woman had a miscarriage during the expulsion. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Congolese authorities have told us they do not have 
the supplies necessary to handle the situation in Western 
Kasai. Kaiser said CARITAS only has adequate medicine and 
non-food supplies for 7,000 persons. There is no MONUC 
presence in the province. In Katanga, the Joint Commission 
report stated that a local committee had been formed to take 
care of Congolese without host families. The report said 
local authorities and religious groups were providing money 
and that the NGO PAREC had opened soup kitchens using 
volunteers. Additionally, Minister Muyambo announced on a 
visit to Katanga that the DRC government would provide 15 
tons of clothes, medicine and food. 
 
-------------------- 
POLITICAL UNDERTONES 
-------------------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) The Joint Commission report stated that the reasons 
for the expulsion were not clear. It reported that its 
members were told the Angolan government had recently sold 
the mining zone to an American company and wanted to clear it 
out. The report also said they were told by displaced 
Congolese that they supported UNITA, and were therefore 
targeted by the MPLA because of upcoming elections. 
 
¶11. (U) According to Embassy Luanda, Lunda Norte officials 
announced in January that they planned on expelling illegal 
miners in Maludi at an unspecified time (ref C). GDRC 
officials were not prepared however, and Minister Muyambo and 
Governor Mbingho told us they had not been informed about the 
expulsion in advance. According to Kinshasa news reports, 
Angolan Ambassador Joao Baptista Mawete told a DRC delegation 
on July 10 the expulsions followed bilateral agreements on 
illegal miners between the GDRC and the GOA three years ago. 
Local articles also said Minister of Interior Denis Kalume 
called on the GOA in the meeting to treat the Congolese with 
dignity and to give the GDRC necessary time to prepare for 
their return. The press later reported that Mawete emphasized 
in a July 19 meeting with Prime Minister Antoine Gizenga that 
all illegal miners were being expelled from the region, and 
that Congolese were not targeted. 
 
¶12. (SBU) CARITAS, MONUC and other embassy contacts told us 
there was nothing unexpected about the expulsions, as they 
have been going on for three years now and have reoccurred in 
recent months. Rodrigus said the GOA will not stop the 
expulsions in the future because it wants control of their 
diamond resources along the border with DRC. He expressed 
concern to us that the southern border with Angola could 
become a hot spot as a result of these problems. 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶13. (U) Comment: Initial estimates of displaced Congolese 
were exaggerated, but it is clear more Congolese will be 
arriving from Angola in upcoming months. Humanitarian 
emergencies and population displacements along the border are 
likely to continue unless displaced Congolese are able to 
support themselves economically in their homes in the DRC. It 
is true that Congolese expulsions from Angola have occurred 
periodically for years, usually without much or any prior 
notice, often creating humanitarian problems, and 
occasionally provoking some media and other protests in the 
DRC. This episode occurs in the midst of continuing political 
outrage being expressed by parliamentary opposition members 
and others in Kinshasa over the recent DRC/Angola border 
dispute, magnifying the issue. President Kabila is expected 
to travel to Luanda in coming days for a bilateral visit, and 
both governments have a vested interest to limit the damage 
to bilateral relations associated with the issue. 
 
MEECE