Submit this form
Home News Videos Music Photos Facebook Twitter Friends Newsletter Podcasts Mobile RSS
FDLR rebels resort to abductions in North Kivu

Xinhua - December 15, 2009
Les Kivus

Members of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) have kidnapped at least four people since last week in the Nyamilima area, about 100 km from Goma, the capital of North-Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Local media said the battered Rwandan rebels were resorting to abductions for ransoms of between 300 U. S. dollars and 1,000 dollars from the families of the victims.

A radio station in Goma on Sunday quoted local administrative and police sources as saying that the very last case of abductions happened on Friday, when a young man of 20 years old and a woman were abducted in a rice field during day time at Kinyana in Nyamilima. The two have not been found to date.

On Thursday, police in Nyamilima reported that a local primary school teacher was abducted from his school by two FDLR soldiers at mid-day.

The abductors left behind their telephone number at the school for use by the family of the victim and later made a ransom demand of 1,200 dollars for his release.

One week ago, another man aged 70 was abducted at Kamusenga, an area close to Nyamilima. His family got him back after paying 300 dollars to the FDLR abductors.

The abductions have prompted actions by the United Nations peacekeepers in the DRC (MONUC) based in Nyamilima and the local authorities, but without concrete results by far.

The FDLR's new form of presence despite the mopping-up operation by the military has forced some people in Nyamilima to flee into the forest again.

Meanwhile, the FDLR appeared to have intensified its attacks inthe past week on villages in the eastern North Kivu province, which borders Rwanda.

The FDLR has been taking shelter in North Kivu after committing the 1994 Rwanda massacre. It suffered a heavy blow in the joint military operation between the DRC and Rwanda early in the year, but has managed to launch sporadic attacks in small groups on civilians ever since.

Last week, the Rwandan rebels who are allied with the local MaiMai militia attacked the Omate locality, more than 140 km from Goma, killing one person and looting a number of villages.

After repeated attacks by the FDLR in the past seven days, local authorities said up to 11 inflicted areas were rendered empty, adding to the number of internally displaced persons in North Kivu.

The administrator of Walikale territory, Dieudonne Tshishiku, told local radio that the current security situation in his area was precarious.

Commenting on the Omate attack, he noted, "Saturday at 5.00 a.m., the FDLR joined the Mai Mai in an attack on the Omate mining quarry. The number of the assailants was actually bigger than that of the FARDC being deployed on the ground. The FARDC controls only Ntoto. This is why they came from the forest to get supplies in almost all the villages. This is the case of Mutakatu, Luvungi and today, the Omate mining quarry."

"I can certainly tell you that between Ngora and Ntoto, there are 15 villages. And among these 15 villages, 11 of them have no inhabitants. All the people are currently putting up at the main town of this territory," he said.

Tshishiku has been in Goma since Friday, leading a delegation of the security council of Walikale territory to make a report of the situation in Walikale to the provincial authorities in North Kivu.


Related articles


  1. Jean-Pierre Bemba Returns to DR Congo (August 1, 2018)
  2. At least 30 dead after massacres in Ituri (March 2, 2018)
  3. Botswana Urges Joseph Kabila to Step Down (February 26, 2018)
  4. No elections in DR Congo in December without electronic voting machines: INEC (February 13, 2018)
  5. DR Congo reach final of African Nations Championship (February 3, 2016)
  6. Peacekeepers, Congo Army to Resume Joint Fight Against Rwandan Rebels (January 28, 2016)
  7. Political tensions 'running high' in DR Congo ahead of 2016 elections (October 7, 2015)
  8. DRC Army Putting Pressure on FDLR (April 1, 2015)
  9. Police Open Fire on Crowd Protesting Election Law Change (January 19, 2015)
  10. Southern African Leaders to Meet in Zimbabwe (August 15, 2014)
  11. 15 dead in football match stampede in Kinshasa (May 12, 2014)
  12. Kerry Calls on Kabila to Honor Constitution (May 4, 2014)
  13. Security Council extends UN mission, intervention force in DR Congo for one year (March 28, 2014)
  14. Death toll in Lake Albert boat accident rises to 108 people (March 24, 2014)
  15. New DR Congo amnesty law welcomed by UN envoys (February 5, 2014)
  16. Colonel Mamadou Ndala Is Killed in Ambush (January 2, 2014)
  17. No 'Peace Deal' With Defeated M23 Rebels, DR Congo Says (November 11, 2013)
  18. Congo Will Not Sign a 'Peace Deal' With Defeated M23 Rebels, Government Says (November 6, 2013)
  19. Congo Army Takes Control of Mbuzi Hill From M23 Rebels (November 4, 2013)
  20. Kabila Congratulates Congo Army for Defeating M23 Rebels (October 30, 2013)
  21. Advancing Congo Troops Take Control of Rumangabo From M23 Rebels (October 28, 2013)
  22. Congo Army Liberates Rutshuru, Kiwanja and Kibumba From M23 Rebels (October 27, 2013)
  23. Congo Army Dislodges M23 Rebels From Strategic Town of Kibumba (October 26, 2013)
  24. Ban Ki-moon Confirms M23 Rebels Shelled Rwanda (August 31, 2013)
  25. DR Congo Will Defend Itself Against an Attack by Rwanda, Government Says (August 31, 2013)
  26. M23 Rebels Fired Shells Into Rwanda, Not Congo Army, UN Says (August 30, 2013)
  27. Mortar Shells From Rwanda Kill Civilians in Eastern Congo (August 23, 2013)
  28. Dozens of M23 Rebels Killed by Congo Army in Renewed Fighting (August 22, 2013)
  29. UN Peacekeepers Start Enforcing Security Zone in Eastern Congo (August 1, 2013)
  30. UN Security Council debate focuses on peace efforts for Africa's Great Lakes region (July 25, 2013)


Live TV Congo Radio en ligne Radio
Available on App Store
Get it on Google Play



Contact Us | About Us | Édition en Français | French Edition

© CongoPlanet.com. All rights reserved.