Seven months after their launch in North Kivu, the " large-scale operations " of the Armed Forces of the DRC, triggered according to the official version to eradicate militias called " ADF " and protect civilians, have had the opposite effect.
The carnage have stepped up and the area of violence has expanded to the east and beyond the territory of Beni, Ituri, in the west.
People have no doubts about the hidden objective of these military maneuvers: to exercise domination through fear in a historic area and to provoke farmer s' movements to free the fields of land for the benefit of some officers and their families.
They are part of a chain of command parallel to the orders of Kinshasa, which since October 2014 has infiltrated, manipulate and directs criminal teams.
Their names and actions are known. Colonel Tipy Ziro Ziro, in particular, directs a special unit of the 31th Brigade involved in the killing. He has been mentioned as head of death squadrons by many reports of Ong and UN experts on victims of the massacre in Ntombi, in the territory of Beni.
These collusion Mafia between the military of the special forces deployed in Beni, the militias killing the innocent and local authorities do not date today. They are, among other reasons, the basis of what is called the "ADF phenomenon", which in fact hides a criminal strategy of predation and domination.
In the case of "large-scale operations", announced in large pump on October 31th so-called to eliminate groups responsible for atrocities against civilians, the generals settled in Beni have chosen to mobilize their troops more on the South-east axis, where the mountains of the Ruwenzori is located, only on the north-west side, leaving the of teams a major freedom of action.
A Underground Staff directs the massacres
Désemparées, stalked and grieving, the people are delivered to an invisible and both known enemy. They know that within the regular army (FARDC), a clandestine staff holds command and control the organization of the massacres.
No one is fooled anymore. Seven months after the launch of the "large-scale operations" to be eliminated by the deadly groups, these groups have, on the contrary, resulted in the multiplication of their packages. From October 31th to the end of May, there are 655 victims, including 158 in May, most of them civilians. The figures on the rise despite the presence of 23 thousand FARDC soldiers and a dozen general in the territory! And which reflects the true purpose of this spectacular military deployment, which has certainly not been considered to protect civilians and destroy killers...
Tribal militias that defeat the army...
In addition, the area of massacres has expanded east in the the rich in cocoa, coffee and vanilla. And to the west, beyond the territory of Beni and to Ituri, where the smuggling of gold is prosperous.
In Ituri, there is also a group called CODECO (Co-op for the Development of Congo), which many commentators consider, in its origins and use, a copy of the "alleged ADF".
" CODECO ", " ADF "... fictitious labels of groups controlled by the army's parallel command. In May, these same "ADF" made a lot of progress. In the foray from 25 to 26 May in Samboko, the, they left 54 horribly mutilated victims in the field.
There is another significant aspect to highlight. Recently, the Security Barometer of Kivu (KST) reported " An important clash (which) took place on Wednesday, May 27, between FARDC and ADF, in Makembi (Beni territory). According to local police and police sources, he has killed 23 FARDC and 7 'ADF' side ". An amazing record for the regular army in the face of an enemy who normally goes after unarmed civilians... From a source close to the file, this would confirm the true identity of those who hide behind the "alleged ADF": FARDC special forces framed within an invisible hierarchy and who do not hesitate to face other FARDC, if necessary. This explains the heavy losses of the latter, difficult to justify in the event of clashes with community militias operating with women, children and killing peaceful peasants with machetes and hunting guns.
Also in Ituri, fights are reported between the CODECO and the Loyalist army. At the end of April, FARDC suffered a crushing defeat and lost control of about twenty villages. An offensive that has obviously been supported by strong, well-equipped forces. A military expert on the ground who wanted to remain anonymous points out to Maelezo Kongo that these attacks are being carried out according to well-established, co-ordinated operational plans and with adequate logistic structures and tactical principles. In this way, they can only be the work of specialists in illegal action at the head of elite troops mobilizing territorial militias and acting out of command, directly at the orders of the presidency of the Republic in Kinshasa.
Who are the masters of these "grey" units?
It is known that throughout this area, on the road leading to Ituri through Eringeti, is present the 312th quick reaction battalion of General Mundos's famous 31th Brigade (2). For a short time in 2018, the boss of this unit was General rugayi, a former support of FDLR fighters, the Rwandan Hutu rebels, once allies of Kinshasa. A sulphur profile, like that of Colonel Tipy Ziro Ziro, who, according to our reports, would lead the deadly assaults against civilians today. Sometimes the Colonel, a former man of the low works of Mundos, organizes attacks against FARDC positions, whose weapons are recovered and provided to the militias with which he organized juicy gold and wood trafficking.
In his headquarters in Eringeti, Tipy Ziro Ziro works with another controversial officer and suspected by the Beniciens to be in touch with the cutthroats, Colonel Kisembo. With his 3408th Brigade (the former 809th Regiment), this officer directs the operational sub-sector of Oïcha, from which he was first permuted in July 2015 under pressure from the Beni who accused him of collaborate in the killing. In December 2014, the NGO CRDH accused him of arbitrary arrest, torture of civilians and extortion of property. At the time, the two Colonel were working on strengthening the strength and equipment of an ethnic militia of the group of Bambuba-Kisiki, the Matata Group, then deployed to the sites of the massacres.
Those of Tipy Ziro Ziro and Kisembo are examples among others, relevant to the clearing of recent and less recent events, as our Colonel has been working at the scene of crimes since the beginning of this tragic story.
For them, as for their colleagues in the " parallel hierarchy ", it will also be about bringing the rings of this grey chain of command up to the " head of the snake " which is at the manoeuvre of a bloody epic with a record of at least 4000 victims .
General Charles Akilimali Muhindo Mundosi, called Mundos, a former Republican Guard, was sent to Beni by Kinshasa in September 2014. In early October, the cycle of massacres began. Mundos has been mentioned in many UN reports as a sponsor of militias responsible for crimes and is under sanctions from the European Union and the United States.