MONUSCO to intensify offensive as FDLR commander surrenders

Discharge day: After a productive 3-month training program at this centre in Northern Province, the ex-rebels return to their homes to certain future (Photo: RDRC)

The UN mission in Congo (MONUSCO) said March 13 that it would increase the pressure on the Rwandan FDLR rebels until they “all go home” after several officers surrendered. Their surrender will lead them into a new life in Rwanda, away from the hostile bushes on eastern Congo.

The commander Lt. Col. Idrissa Muradadi and three of his bodyguards turned themselves over on March 10, according to Congolese military officials. Muradadi was a leader in the 2nd battalion of the militia group that has terrorised civilians in eastern DR Congo for years.

A government military spokesman of the world body said Muradadi is now in the hands of MONUSCO and awaiting extradition to Rwanda. He did not reveal exact when the hand over will be effected.

The Congolese military, backed by the U.N. peacekeeping mission in the region, launched an offensive on Feb. 15 to hunt down FDLR fighters after a series of attacks by the rebel group. Lt Col Muradadi surrendered because of military pressure, Col. Sylvain Ekenge.

“We will continue this offensive until all of the rebels go home,” he told The Associated Press.

In the same region, 15 other rebels and 74 of their dependents have also turned themselves over to the military, Ekenge said.

Since 2001, more than 9700 FDLR rebels have surrendered, with more than 2,000 in the past years alone amid massive joint military pressure from Rwandan-Congolese and UN forces.

There are no known specific numbers of remaining FDLR rebels, but officials on three sides point to less than 2500.

Once the rebels surrender to the UN or Congolese army, they are collected at UN-managed reception centres, after which they are facilitated to return to Rwanda immediately usually in groups of up to 100 on a weekly basis. The rebels will usually have escaped with their wives and children.

On arrival at the Rwanda-DRC border, they are warmly received and transported straight to the Demoblisation and Reintegration Centre in Musanze district, Northern Province, where they will spend three months undergoing reintegration training. However, at this centre, the dependants of the rebels are facilitated with essential commodities including money to support them until the next harvesting season.

For the rebels who remain at the centre, they are given a new picture of the country including government policies and the progress of the country since many would be stepping on Rwandan soil after years. Some have even never seen an urban centre. They are also given vocational skills which enable them to choose a career option.

Following the end of the three-month training program, the rebels return to their homes to rejoin their families. They leave the centre with a needs kit that includes money worth about Rwf 150,000 ($250) to begin a new life. After a few months, under supervision from a government commission, the ex-combatants are assessed to determine what they would like to do with their lives.

Some choose to go for fully paid 9-month vocational training courses in different disciplines including construction, electrical engineering, plumbing and carpentry. Others choose to do business – and they are given loans depending on how much capital that is required.

This reintegration program is funded by several donors through a World Bank managed fund. The fund has been helping government to demobilise some members of the government army and repatriate rebels.

As of end of 2011, the commission charged with implementing the process says it has reintegrated more than 74,000 rebels and soldiers into civilian lives.