In 2012, insecurity arising from state fragility and armed rebellion, the perpetra-tion of heinous human rights violaperpetra-tions against civilians, the activities of the LRA
Map 3 Central Africa (7 countries): Central African Republic, Congo, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and São Tomé and Príncipe
Source Department of Field Support, Cartographic Section, United Nations, November 2011 Mayo
and the expansion of Boko Haram’s terrorist threat from Nigeria into the region were the major peace and security concerns in Central Africa. Human secu-rity threats that emerged during the year in this region included the eruption of armed confl ict in eastern DRC and Boko Haram attacks and threats in Cameroon and Chad.
In early 2012, Cameroon deployed 600 soldiers near its border with Nigeria following reported infi ltration of Nigeria’s terrorist group Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal Jihad (People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet’s Teachings and Jihad), also known as Boko Haram, into its territory. In an effort to enhance border security and limit the movement of insurgent groups across borders, on 28 February 2012 the governments of Cameroon and Nigeria signed an agreement establishing the joint Border Security Committee. The threat of Boko Haram’s attack materialised on 10 April 2012 when an explosion left 11 dead, including three Cameroonians in the border town of Banki. A similar attack in the same town on 12 April killed fi ve people. The Cameroonian government responded by deploying additional forces to the border. On 4 May, there was a shootout with suspected Boko Haram gunmen in Banki. Another security issue that arose in Cameroon during the year was the establishment of the Bakassi Self-determination Front (BSDF) rebel group on 10 August 2012.
The Boko Haram attacks that took place in Cameroon have heightened fears of further regional expansion of the group’s terrorist networks and illustrated the need for a coordinated regional initiative to tackle the threat. Highlighting the growing concern in the region about the threat Boko Haram has come to rep-resent, on 10 April 2012 Chad President Idris Deby, during a meeting with Niger President Issoufou Mahamadou, called for a coordinated effort to fi ght insecurity in the Sahel and the threat from Boko Haram.
State fragility, dysfunctional governance and fragile peace agreements continued to create insecurity and political instability in the Central African Republic (CAR) in 2012. Armed elements, including rebel groups and the LRA, continued to operate in parts of the country where government security was lacking or completely absent. Disaffection created by the lack of implementation of a 2007 peace agreement led to a resurgence of rebel attacks. In early December, the Seleka rebel alliance – made up of break-away factions of the Convention of Patriots for Justice and Peace (CPJP), Union of Democratic Forces for Unity (UFDR) and Wa Kodro Salute Patriotic Convention (CPSK) – launched an offensive against government forces in northern CAR. Within two weeks, the rebels had
taken control of seven towns, including the key northern town of Ndele and a diamond-rich mining town Bria. This raised the serious danger of unravelling the 2007 fragile peace agreement that had offi cially ended the armed confl ict in CAR.
The territories along the border with Chad remained safe havens for Chadian rebels. On 23 January the CAR and Chadian armies launched a joint offensive in North Central CAR against the Chadian rebel group Popular Front for the Union (FPR). Despite this measure, sporadic skirmishes and retaliatory raids were wit-nessed in the following months. Following the surrender of the leader of FPR, Baba Lad
é, CAR
authorities repatriated his combatants to Chad in September and October 2012.
60The LRA continues to terrorise civilians by ambushing traders and travel-lers, raiding and looting villages, killing civilians, as well as abducting women and children in the east and south east of the CAR. According to the LRA Crisis Tracker, in the more than 200 attacks that the LRA conducted in 2012 in the DRC and CAR, more than 45 civilians died and 400 were abducted. More than 5 500 people fl ed LRA attacks in the last ten months of the year, adding to the more than 460 000 people who had been displaced since 2008.
In 2012, eastern DRC witnessed the most worrying rise in threats to human security of people in the region. Instead of leading to consensus, the elections held in December 2011 further deepened political divisions in the country. The elections, which were marred by irregularities, further eroded the legitimacy of Joseph Kabila’s government. With opposition leaders disputing the results of the election released in January 2012, tension and violence were witnessed in several areas of the country, including the capital Kinshasa, in the fi rst two months of 2012. On 20 January the UN High Commission for refugees (UNHCR) reported that fresh violence had displaced 100 000 people since November 2011.
January 2012 also saw a surge in violence by armed militants and rebel groups.
In early January, Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) attacks in South Kivus killed 40 people and displaced thousands. On 11 January, Gedeon Mayi-Mayi attacks in Katanga displaced over 10 000 people. Similarly, clashes between rival Walikale and Masisi militias in early January killed 22 people and displaced 35 000.
Flawed and incomplete security sector reform together with the political fall-out between Kabila’s government and former members of the National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP) led to the eruption of major armed confl ict
in the turbulent eastern DRC. Although members of the CNDP were integrated into the Armed Forces of the DRC (FARDC), a fall-out with the former CNDP leader, Bosco Ntaganda, sought by the International Criminal Court (ICC), and Kabila’s proposal to transfer regiments away from the Kivus led to the defection of ex-CNDP soldiers, who orchestrated a mutiny. The resulting armed fi ghting between defected ex-CNDP soldiers and government forces in April in eastern DRC left thousands displaced. In May, the mutineers announced the formation of the March 23 rebel movement (M23). As FARDC struggled to dislodge M23 rebels from North Kivu, fi ghting continued between April and July. After some respite in August and September, fi ghting resumed again in October. Various armed groups operating in the region took advantage of the security vacuum that resulted from the abandonment of army posts by defectors and the rede-ployment of FARDC to confront M23. The FDLR, Mayi-Mayi militias and the LRA increased their operations in eastern DRC where they perpetrated atrocities against civilians.
As in previous confl icts in eastern DRC, civilians have borne the brunt of this violence. The UN Mission in DRC (MONUSCO) reported that 98 people were killed between 9 and 25 May in North Kivu. With more than 370 000 civilians fl eeing their homes in North Kivu alone since April and hundreds of thousands more in South Kivu, an already dire humanitarian situation worsened. The situation escalated inter-ethnic tensions and violence in eastern DRC. Unfortunately, after seven months, the fi ghting continued unabated and indeed dramatically dete-rioration. On 18 November, the M23 forces reached the surrounding areas of the regional capital Goma. After two days of fi ghting, they pushed the FARDC out of the area and took control of Goma.
Neighbouring countries Rwanda and Uganda have been implicated in the newly erupted confl ict in eastern DRC. While in May and June 2012, reports from the UN revealed that M23 enjoyed support from Rwanda, a leaked UN group of experts report in mid-October included Uganda as a source of support for M23.
On 21 November, the UN Group of Experts report substantiated alleged Rwandan and Ugandan support for M23. Although both countries rejected the reports, tension had been rising between Kinshasa on the one hand and Kigali and Kampala on the other. At the end of November, following a reported agreement with regional leaders, M23 rebels reportedly withdrew from the city centre of Goma,61 although on 30 November M23 announced a delay in the withdrawal due to logistical problems.