Displaced people return to their hometown of Kitshanga on Feb. 11.Hugh Kinsella Cunningham/Getty Images
Canada has withdrawn its military officers from a United Nations peacekeeping mission in eastern Congo, citing the “increasingly perilous security conditions” in the rebel-held city of Goma.
Critics say the Canadian government is abandoning the UN mission at a time when peacekeepers are desperately needed to protect thousands of civilians who have sought shelter at UN bases in Goma.
Canadian diplomats announced the withdrawal this week in a letter to the peace operations department at UN headquarters in New York. The letter, seen by The Globe and Mail, said the federal government “has found it necessary to prioritize the safety and well-being of our personnel” because of the “increasingly perilous security conditions in Goma.”
The letter said the Canadian military personnel will be temporarily relocated, and Canada will be “supporting the mission remotely.” Canada will resume its presence in Congo “when conditions are deemed more secure for our members,” it said.
The Rwandan-backed M23 rebel militia captured Goma, a city of two million people, in late January. Since then, there have been widespread reports that M23 fighters have gone house-to-house in Goma, attacking civilians and perceived opponents.
Civilians attend a meeting organised by M23 at the Stade de L'Unite, after the town of Goma was taken by M23 rebels, on Feb. 6.Stringer/Reuters
The rebels, working closely with Rwandan forces, have expanded their offensive in recent days, marching southward from Goma into South Kivu province. On Friday, they entered South Kivu’s capital, Bukavu, about 180 kilometres south of Goma, as the Congolese military appeared to abandon the city of more than one million people.
Earlier in the day, M23 seized the city’s airport, about 30 kilometres north of the city, without any resistance from the military. Thousands of civilians fled from Bukavu as the rebel militia moved closer. Burundian troops, supporting Congo’s army, also reportedly withdrew from the city.
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The rebel capture of Bukavu, expected to be completed in the coming days, will give M23 control of the two biggest cities in the mineral-rich Kivu region of eastern Congo, allowing it to dominate the trade of coltan, a key element in computers and cellphones. From there, they have vowed to march onto the national capital, Kinshasa, to topple the government.
A spokesperson for the Canadian armed forces, Captain Brigitte Van Hende, confirmed that Canada has withdrawn its military personnel from Goma because of “recent assessments of the security situation.”
They have been temporarily relocated to Uganda, she said. “The Canadian Armed Forces take the safety of all deployed members very seriously,” she told The Globe.
The Canadian military mission in Congo is relatively small – a total of eight personnel – but it is the second-largest of Canada’s foreign peacekeeping missions, behind only South Sudan.
The letter to the UN said six Canadian personnel are involved in the relocation. A seventh Canadian officer, who is not part of the UN mission but is supporting the other Canadians, is also being withdrawn from Goma. Two other Canadian peacekeepers, based in the Congolese capital Kinshasa, are staying in place.
Despite the small size of their contingent, the Canadian officers in Congo are relatively senior and hold key positions in planning, co-ordination, intelligence and liaison with the Congolese army. The move will significantly weaken the UN peacekeeping mission in Congo, analysts say.
“To withdraw Canadian military personnel now would be to abandon the country and the UN at the hour of greatest need,” said Walter Dorn, a peacekeeping expert and professor of defence studies at the Canadian Forces College in Toronto.
“It would also mean letting down thousands of fearful Congolese who have sought UN protection,” Prof. Dorn told The Globe.
“They have taken refuge in or near UN facilities because they trust the UN and the countries that make up the mission. The UN mission not only has a protection-of-civilians mandate but it also serves an important function as the eyes and ears of the international community. And the mission can still save lives.”
The Canadian government and military have become increasingly “risk-averse” in recent years, especially in peace operations in conflict zones, Prof. Dorn said.
The withdrawal from Goma, he said, would be similar to the withdrawal of UN forces from Rwanda in 1994 during the genocide there. “It would not be an act of courage but one of cowardice,” he said.
“A withdrawal would send a terrible signal to the Congo and to Africa as a whole, as well as the United Nations.”
Capt. Van Hende declined to answer questions about whether the Canadian withdrawal will weaken the capacity of the UN mission in Goma, saying that it is a UN matter.
The Canadian military personnel who are relocated to Uganda “will continue to conduct their operational activities” in support of the UN mission in Congo, she said.
A United Nations official said the Canadian personnel had crucial functions in Goma, including operational planning, co-ordination and liaison, and these functions are essential, especially when the UN mission is already under severe pressure from M23 and Rwandan forces.
The official, whom The Globe is not naming because they are not authorized to speak to the media, said the Canadian withdrawal could trigger a domino effect of other withdrawals and could damage the morale of the UN personnel who are staying in Goma and accepting the risks. It will create a vacuum that will be felt in the day-to-day operations of the UN mission, the official said.
Troops from other countries contributing to the UN mission in Goma – including Uruguay, India and Senegal – are remaining in the city despite the risk, the official said.
In Ottawa, NDP foreign affairs critic Heather McPherson said the conflict in Congo is one of the most serious in the world and requires greater Canadian engagement. The withdrawal of the Canadian peacekeepers “could put civilians in Congo at further risk of violence,” she said in a statement, urging their return to Goma when possible.
The M23 militia, supported by thousands of Rwandan troops, captured Goma in late January despite resistance from the Congolese military, UN peacekeepers and a southern African military contingent. Nearly 3,000 people were killed, and hundreds of thousands of people were forced to flee, the UN says.
After capturing the city, M23 unlawfully ordered tens of thousands of displaced people to leave their camps around Goma, according to a Human Rights Watch report on Thursday. The militia has also shut down Goma’s airport, making it difficult for humanitarian supplies to reach the city.
Media reports have described a series of attacks on civilians by M23 in the city. A well-known singer, Delphin Katembo Vinywasiki, known as Delcat Idengo, was shot dead on Thursday, shortly after releasing a song that condemned M23’s occupation of the city. The Congolese government has blamed M23 for the killing, but the group has denied it.
With a report by Steven Chase in Ottawa
Gunfire could be heard across eastern Congo's Goma on Monday as Rwandan-backed rebels said they had seized the city with Congolese soldiers handing over weapons and thousands fleeing into Rwanda. David Doyle has more.
Reuters