02-12-2018, 11:51 PM
*** 13-Feb-18 World View -- Thousands of DR Congo refugees pour into Uganda to escape tribal violence
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
****
**** Thousands of DR Congo refugees pour into Uganda to escape tribal violence
****
![[Image: g180212b.jpg]](http://Media.GenerationalDynamics.com/ww2010/g180212b.jpg)
Twenty year old Mary Maurita and her newborn baby in a Uganda refugee camp
Tens of thousands of refugees in eastern Democratic Republic
of Congo (DRC) have been fleeing tribal violence.
More than 14,000 refugees, the large majority women and children, have
fled the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to Uganda since December
18th 2017, because of increased tribal violence in eastern DRC.
This is a big upsurge in refugees, reflecting a sharp
increase in tribal and ethnic violence throughout eastern DRC.
Refugees have reported that the current situation in DRC includes
armed groups burning down and pillaging villages, torching houses,
shutting down schools, hospitals and churches, forcefully recruiting
young men, abducting and kidnapping innocent citizens, raping women
and girls. Some refugees were forced to pay armed groups to cross the
border into Uganda to escape the violence.
Tribal conflicts are common in DRC. Since 1960, there have been more
than 17 civil wars recorded, with four million deaths. For years,
refugees from DRC have come to Uganda, particularly since August 2007,
when government forces attacked civilians in North Kivu province in
order to obtain mineral resources, including gold. At the end of
2017, there were 242,406 registered refugees in Uganda from DRC, and
the number is increasing sharply because of increased tribal violence
in DRC. In January alone, 13,550 additional refugees have arrived.
Because of the increased violence in DRC, Uganda is making plans to
host hundreds of thousands more refugees. Uganda has a population of
nearly 1,4 million refugees, of whom 1 million are from South Sudan
and nearly 250,000 are from DRC. ReliefWeb and NTV (Uganda) and The Nation (Kenya)
****
**** Massive 1998-2003 war between Hema and Lendu tribes has continued violence today
****
After the 1994 Rwanda genocide, the violence spread to DR Congo as
Rwanda, Uganda, and Burundi intervened, and took sides in the tribal
and government violence in eastern DRC, providing troops, training,
arms, and general aid to the warring sides.
The Hema and the Lendu ethnic groups of the DR Congo are both
pastoralist tribes, and they have historically had wars in competition
for land for their cattle. After a new Hema-Lendu war started in
1998, Ugandan militias sided with the Hema against the Lendu. The
result was a massive war in the Ituri district of northeastern Congo
between August 1998 and July 2003, killing some 3.3 million people,
and displacing hundreds of thousands more. The point of the war was
mainly to gain control over mineral rights in the tribal land.
Although the war was officially settled in 2003, the violence between
Hema and Lendu, as well as between other tribal groups, continues to
this day.
The European Union has announced that it will offer 100,000 euros in
humanitarian aid for Congolese refugees in Uganda. According to an EU
official:
<QUOTE>"Renewed fighting and atrocities in DRC are driving
thousands of Congolese from their homes. After the long journey,
many of them arrive in the refugee settlement weakened and
destitute. EU funding is being released to increase the safe water
supply and improve sanitation, hygiene and health services. It is
crucial that we provide dignified living conditions and prevent
disease outbreaks."<END QUOTE>
According to one commenter: "This is good news for French speaking
Europe: these refugees in Uganda won't try going to Europe, but will
just flock more & more to Uganda where the money is!"
Northeastern Congo is cursed with vast riches in the form of mineral
wealth, in a region with many tribes and ethnic groups. The level of
violence increased sharply in mid-December, resulting in a massive new
surge of refugees crossing the border, which Uganda is now faced with
hosting in refugee camps. Kat Nickerson (June 2012) and Defence Web (South Africa) and ACT Alliance and Observer (Uganda)
Related Articles
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC,
Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Ituri, Hema, Lendu
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
- Thousands of DR Congo refugees pour into Uganda to escape tribal violence
- Massive 1998-2003 war between Hema and Lendu tribes has continued violence today
****
**** Thousands of DR Congo refugees pour into Uganda to escape tribal violence
****
Twenty year old Mary Maurita and her newborn baby in a Uganda refugee camp
Tens of thousands of refugees in eastern Democratic Republic
of Congo (DRC) have been fleeing tribal violence.
More than 14,000 refugees, the large majority women and children, have
fled the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to Uganda since December
18th 2017, because of increased tribal violence in eastern DRC.
This is a big upsurge in refugees, reflecting a sharp
increase in tribal and ethnic violence throughout eastern DRC.
Refugees have reported that the current situation in DRC includes
armed groups burning down and pillaging villages, torching houses,
shutting down schools, hospitals and churches, forcefully recruiting
young men, abducting and kidnapping innocent citizens, raping women
and girls. Some refugees were forced to pay armed groups to cross the
border into Uganda to escape the violence.
Tribal conflicts are common in DRC. Since 1960, there have been more
than 17 civil wars recorded, with four million deaths. For years,
refugees from DRC have come to Uganda, particularly since August 2007,
when government forces attacked civilians in North Kivu province in
order to obtain mineral resources, including gold. At the end of
2017, there were 242,406 registered refugees in Uganda from DRC, and
the number is increasing sharply because of increased tribal violence
in DRC. In January alone, 13,550 additional refugees have arrived.
Because of the increased violence in DRC, Uganda is making plans to
host hundreds of thousands more refugees. Uganda has a population of
nearly 1,4 million refugees, of whom 1 million are from South Sudan
and nearly 250,000 are from DRC. ReliefWeb and NTV (Uganda) and The Nation (Kenya)
****
**** Massive 1998-2003 war between Hema and Lendu tribes has continued violence today
****
After the 1994 Rwanda genocide, the violence spread to DR Congo as
Rwanda, Uganda, and Burundi intervened, and took sides in the tribal
and government violence in eastern DRC, providing troops, training,
arms, and general aid to the warring sides.
The Hema and the Lendu ethnic groups of the DR Congo are both
pastoralist tribes, and they have historically had wars in competition
for land for their cattle. After a new Hema-Lendu war started in
1998, Ugandan militias sided with the Hema against the Lendu. The
result was a massive war in the Ituri district of northeastern Congo
between August 1998 and July 2003, killing some 3.3 million people,
and displacing hundreds of thousands more. The point of the war was
mainly to gain control over mineral rights in the tribal land.
Although the war was officially settled in 2003, the violence between
Hema and Lendu, as well as between other tribal groups, continues to
this day.
The European Union has announced that it will offer 100,000 euros in
humanitarian aid for Congolese refugees in Uganda. According to an EU
official:
<QUOTE>"Renewed fighting and atrocities in DRC are driving
thousands of Congolese from their homes. After the long journey,
many of them arrive in the refugee settlement weakened and
destitute. EU funding is being released to increase the safe water
supply and improve sanitation, hygiene and health services. It is
crucial that we provide dignified living conditions and prevent
disease outbreaks."<END QUOTE>
According to one commenter: "This is good news for French speaking
Europe: these refugees in Uganda won't try going to Europe, but will
just flock more & more to Uganda where the money is!"
Northeastern Congo is cursed with vast riches in the form of mineral
wealth, in a region with many tribes and ethnic groups. The level of
violence increased sharply in mid-December, resulting in a massive new
surge of refugees crossing the border, which Uganda is now faced with
hosting in refugee camps. Kat Nickerson (June 2012) and Defence Web (South Africa) and ACT Alliance and Observer (Uganda)
Related Articles
- United Nations stunned as peacekeepers are massacred in DR Congo (09-Dec-2017)
- Democratic Republic of Congo issues farcical call for elections in December 2018 (07-Nov-2017)
- DR Congo's Joseph Kabila brings the art of power and corruption to new heights (24-Jul-2017)
- Massive government atrocities in DR Congo's Kasai threaten regional stability (21-Jun-2017)
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC,
Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Ituri, Hema, Lendu
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
