Attacks in the Congo

Bianca Roseboro

Sunday, October 10, 2010

On October 5, the alleged leader of a rebel militia was arrested after the group was accused of committing mass rapes in the Congo area. The leader has been identified as Colonel Mayele and was arrested by United Nations’ forces as well as forces of the Congolese. Colonel Mayele is the assumed leader of the Mai Mai Cheka militia group.

According to a preliminary report by the United Nations, 200 members across three rebel groups executed the attacks. These groups were the Mai Mai Cheka, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), and followers of an army deserter named Colonel Emmanuel Nsengiyumva. The report also stated that about 303 civilians were attacked between July 30 and August 2. The 303 victims included 235 women, 52 girls, 13 men and 3 boys. Victims of the attacks have told investigators that the assumed motive of the attacks “was to punish and subjugate the local population whom the attackers viewed as ‘traitors’”.

The rebel groups entered the villages of their victims under the pretense that they were going to provide security for the people. Unbeknownst to the villagers, the attackers, who were armed with AK47s, grenades, and machetes, would loot and rape a village while another group of rebels would attack those who tried to flee and rape them or take them into forced labor.

These rebel groups used their power as “militia” to undermine the villagers’ willingness to trust by attacking them after they felt safe. This can be viewed as a global social issue because it is not a rare occurrence that those in power misuse their status by deceiving the people that look to them for reassurance. The forced labor aspect of the attacks could also be considered a global issue because it raises the issue of slavery in a contemporary world.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/10/05/congo.rapes.arrest/index.html?npt=NP1