Land Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Congolese Army
Country	Democratic Republic of the Congo
Allegiance	Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Branch	Army
Role	Territorial defence of DR Congo
Size	Multiple brigades
Headquarters	Kinshasa
Colors	Blue
Engagements	Kivu conflict
Commanders
FARDC chief of land forces	General Dieudonné Banze Lubundji

The Land Forces (French: Forces du Terrestres), also called the Congolese army, are the ground component of the armed forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Much of the army troops are former members of rebel groups fighting in the eastern DRC. Corruption and incompetence of soldiers is rampant, and many of them commit crimes against local populations. The United Nations maintains a large force in the country to aid the Congolese army in the North Kivu province, where they have been fighting the M23 group. In October 2013, the M23 rebellion surrendered to the Kinshasa government.

History

The land forces are made up of about 14 integrated brigades, of fighters from all the former warring factions which have gone through an brassage integration process (see next paragraph), and a not-publicly known number of non-integrated brigades which remain solely made up from single factions (the Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD)'s Armee National Congolaise, the ex-government former Congolese Armed Forces (FAC), the ex-RCD KML, the ex-Movement for the Liberation of Congo, the armed groups of the Ituri conflict (the Mouvement des Révolutionnaires Congolais (MRC), Forces de Résistance Patriotique d'Ituri (FRPI) and the Front Nationaliste Intégrationniste (FNI)) and the Mai-Mai).

It appears that about the same time that Presidential Decree 03/042 of 18 December 2003 established the National Commission for Demobilisation and Reinsertion (CONADER), '..all ex-combatants were officially declared as FARDC soldiers and the then FARDC brigades [were to] rest deployed until the order to leave for brassage.^[1]

The reform plan adopted in 2005 envisaged the formation of eighteen integrated brigades through the brassage process as its first of three stages.^[2] The process consists firstly of regroupment, where fighters are disarmed. Then they are sent to orientation centres, run by CONADER, where fighters take the choice of either returning to civilian society or remaining in the armed forces. Combatants who choose demobilization receive an initial cash payment of US $110. Those who choose to stay within the FARDC are then transferred to one of six integration centres for a 45-day training course, which aims to build integrated formations out of factional fighters previously heavily divided along ethnic, political and regional lines. The centres are spread out around the country at Kitona, Kamina, Kisangani, Rumangabo and Nyaleke (within the Virunga National Park) in Nord-Kivu, and Luberizi (on the border with Burundi) in South Kivu. The process has suffered severe difficulties due to construction delays, administration errors, and the amount of travel former combatants have to do, as the three stages' centres are widely separated. Following the first 18 integrated brigades, the second goal is the formation of a ready reaction force of two to three brigades, and finally, by 2010 when MONUC is anticipated to have withdrawn, the creation of a Main Defence Force of three divisions.

In February 2008, the current reform plan was described as:^[3]

"The short term, 2008–2010, will see the setting in place of a Rapid Reaction Force; the medium term, 2008–2015, with a Covering Force; and finally the long term, 2015–2020, with a Principal Defence Force." He added that the reform plan rests on a programme of synergy based on the four pillars of dissuasion, production, reconstruction and excellence. "The Rapid Reaction Force is expected to focus on dissuasion, through a Rapid Reaction Force of 12 battalions, capable of aiding MONUC to secure the east of the country and to realise constitutional missions," Defence Minister Chikez Diemu said.

Amid the other difficulties in building new armed forces for the DRC, in early 2007 the integration and training process was distorted as the DRC government under Kabila attempted to use it to gain more control over the dissident general Laurent Nkunda. A hastily negotiated verbal agreement in Rwanda saw three government FAC brigades integrated with Nkunda's former ANC 81st and 83rd Brigades in what was called mixage. Mixage brought multiple factions into composite brigades, but without the 45-day retraining provided by brassage, and it seems that actually, the process was limited to exchanging battalions between the FAC and Nkunda brigades in North Kivu, without further integration. Due to Nkunda's troops having greater cohesion, Nkunda effectively gained control of all five brigades - not what the DRC central government had been hoping!^[4] However, after Nkunda used the mixage brigades to fight the FDLR, strains arose between the FARDC and Nkunda-loyalist troops within the brigades and they fell apart in the last days of August 2007. The International Crisis Group says that 'by 30 August [2007] Nkunda's troops had left the mixed brigades and controlled a large part of the Masisi and Rutshuru territories' (of North Kivu).^[5]

Both formally integrated brigades and the non-integrated units continue to conduct arbitrary arrests, rapes, robbery, and other crimes^[6] and these human rights violations are "regularly" committed by both officers and members of the rank and file. Members of the Army also often strike deals to gain access to resources with the militias they are meant to be fighting.^[7]

The various brigades and other formations and units number at least 100,000 troops.^[8] The status of these brigades has been described as "pretty chaotic."^[9] A 2007 disarmament and repatriation study said "army units that have not yet gone through the process of brassage are usually much smaller than what they ought to be. Some non-integrated brigades have only 500 men (and are thus nothing more than a small battalion) whereas some battalions may not even have the size of a normal company (over a 100 men)."^[10]

Organization

See also U.S. State Department, 07KINSHASA452 Congolese Military Proposes Redeployment, Renaming Of Integrated Brigades, 19 April 2007. Like the Force Publique in the Congo Free State, FARDC brigades have been deploying to their areas of operation with their families in tow. 2nd Commando Battalion of the Belgian Paracommando Brigade trained one of the first integrated brigades from January to June 2004.^[11] As of 13 September 2006, the Government had established 13 out of the 18 integrated brigades it had planned to create before the elections. (S/2006/759, 21 September 2006, 12) A fourteenth brigade was created by March 2007. (S/2007/156, 20 March 2007, 7)

• 1st Brigade (integrated), Belgium began training this brigade in Kisangani on 9 February 2004,^[12] graduated June 2004. Human rights reports in April and August 2007 place the Brigade in the Mahagi territory, Ituri area, Orientale Province.^[13] At Bavi, 30 km south of Bunia, between August and November 2006 forty civilians were slaughtered and buried in three different graves by soldiers of the 1st integrated Brigade.
• 2nd Brigade (integrated), trained by Angola at Kitona.^[2] ordered to move to North Kivu from Kinshasa, February 2006. (06KINSHASA178, 2 February 2006) Butembo, North Kivu, 28 July 2007^[14] See also U.S. State Department, 06KINSHASA629 North Kivu: Struggling to Survive in Rutshuru Territory, 20 April 2006.
• 3rd Brigade (integrated), trained by Belgium and South Africa at Kamina.^[2] Graduated 1 June 2005. (05KINSHASA950, 10 June 2005) In the Bukavu area, late March 2007^[15] (now 101st Brigade)
• 4th Brigade (integrated), training process finished [Monday] c.23 August 2005, then under the command of Colonel Willy Bonané RCD-G), a Tutsi officer close to Governor Eugene Serufuli, and was dispatched to Ituri. (ICG Africa Report 108, 27 April 2006, p. 16, and IRIN, Former militiamen now form army's 4th Brigade, 23 August 2005) Cholera broke out amongst the brigade, Aug-Sept 2005.^[16] Elements reported at Lopa, Ituri area, 24–25 July 2007^[17]
• 5th Brigade (integrated), deployed to North Kivu in August–September 2005.^[16] See ICG Africa Report 108, 27 April 2006, p. 16. "In January [2006], tensions escalated after human rights abuses were committed by soldiers of the FARDC 5th integrated brigade against Kinyarwanda speakers in Rutshuru territory. Insurgents belonging to the Laurent Nkunda militia, with elements of the 83rd brigade, attacked the FARDC 5th integrated brigade. They subsequently took over Rwindi and Kibrizi, prompting the withdrawal of FARDC from Rutshuru to Kanyabayonga. On 21 January, MONUC launched operations and successfully cleared Rwindi and Kibrizi of rebel elements."^[18] Brigade now at Kananga, Kasai-Occidental. See also U.S. State Department, 06KINSHASA481, 23 March 2006.
• 6th Brigade (integrated), said that 'the sixth and last brigade from the first phase of army integration is expected to be ready for deployment in late September' [2005].^[16] Located Jiba, Ituri area, Orientale Province, May 2007^[19] Ordered to leave Ituri for North Kivu for offensive against Laurent Nkunda, June 2007.^[20]
• 7th Brigade (integrated), finished forming Kitona March 2006.^[21] On 3 May 2006, it was reported that 'elements such as the 7th Integrated Brigade are still taking up space at the Rumangabu brassage center (North Kivu), for instance, and because they have not been fully deployed to Luberu (North Kivu), it isn't possible for the next group of soldiers to arrive at Rumangabu for integration.' (State Department,06KINSHASA711, SSR: Blockages Remain, 8 May 2006) Stationed in Maluku, Kinshasa August 2006^[22] Elements of this brigade at Bolobo, Bandundu province, May 2007.^[23]
• 8th Brigade (integrated), Elements at Luberizi & Luvungi, in South Kivu, May 2007.^[24]
• 9th Brigade (integrated), North Kivu. Involved in a 5 August 2006, firefight between the 94th Battalion (of the 9th Integrated Brigade) against the 834th Battalion (of the non-integrated 83rd Brigade), at Sake, North Kivu.^[25]
• 10th Brigade (integrated), headquartered at Gemena, Equateur, 31 August 2007. (07KINSHASA1033, 31 August 2007) Deployed to the Dongo crisis in October 2009, suffering two defeats at the hands of Odjani Mangbama's forces. (Congo Siasa)
• 12th Brigade (integrated), HQ at Baraka, South Kivu^[26]
• 13th Brigade (integrated), Marabo, North Kivu, mid June 2007.^[27] Second battalion of this brigade in process of formation near Bunia mid August 2007.^[28]
• 14th Brigade (integrated), Kalima, South Kivu, May 2007, now numbered 105th Brigade.^[29] Africa Confidential reported in January 2008 that the brigade was a part of a 25,000 strong government attack on 4,000 of Laurent Nkunda's soldiers in December 2007, but was beaten back, with the loss of its 'entire arms and equipment.'^[30] Human Rights Watch's 'Soldiers Who Rape, Commanders Who Condone: Sexual Violence and Military Reform in the Democratic Republic of Congo,' July 2009, is a detailed study of this brigade's history and crimes.^[31]
• 15th Brigade (integrated) (waiting for deployment as of 30 May 2007, with 2,837 men assigned.^[32] Ordered to leave Kisangani for North Kivu for offensive against Laurent Nkunda, June, and then routed by Nkunda troops in the Sake area, early September 2007.^[20]
• 16th and 17th Brigades (integrated)(beginning 'brassage' integration process as of 30 May 2007, both over 4,000 strong at the beginning of the process)^[33] 17th Bde was later referred to in the Oxfam report 'Waking the Devil,' as well as later being in the Luhago/Kabona localities of Kabare territoire.^[34]
• 18th Brigade^[35]

Congolese soldiers being trained by American contractors wait for instructions during training at Camp Base, Kisangani, 5 May 2010

• 103rd Brigade (integrated)—previously designated 11th Brigade. Elements reported at Walungu, 110 km SW of Bukavu, South Kivu in the course of rape allegation 27 March 2007.^[36]

A number of outside donor countries are also carrying out separate training programmes for various parts of the Forces du Terrestres (Land Forces). The People's Republic of China has trained Congolese troops at Kamina in Katanga from at least 2004 to 2009,^[37] and the Belgian government is training at least one 'rapid reaction' battalion. When Kabila visited U.S. President George W. Bush in Washington D.C., he also asked the U.S. Government to train a battalion, and as a result, a private contractor, Protection Strategies Incorporated, started training a FARDC battalion at Camp Base, Kisangani, in February 2010.^[38] The company is being supervised by Special Operations Command-Africa Command. The various international training programmes are not well integrated.

Chiefs of staff

Several known officers held the post of chief of land forces staff.

• Sylvain Buki (2003—2006)
• Gabriel Amisi Kumba (2006—2012)
• François Olenga (2012—2014)
• Dieudonné Banze Lubundji (2014—present)^[39][40]

Republican Guard

In addition to the other land forces, President Joseph Kabila also has a Republican Guard presidential force, formerly known as the Special Presidential Security Group (GSSP). FARDC military officials state that the Garde Républicaine is not the responsibility of FARDC, but the Head of State.^[41] Apart from Article 140 of the Law on the Army and Defence, no legal stipulation on the DRC's Armed Forces makes provision for the GR as a distinct unit within the national army. In February 2005, President Joseph Kabila passed a decree which appointed the GR's commanding officer and 'repealed any previous provisions contrary' to that decree. The GR is more than 10,000 strong (the ICG said 10,000–15,000 in January 2007), and has better working conditions and is paid regularly, but still commits rapes and robberies nearby their bases.

In an effort to extend his personal control across the country, Joseph Kabila has deployed the GR at key airports, ostensibly in preparation for an impending presidential visit.^[42] At the end of 2005, there were Guards deployed in Mbandaka, Kindu, Lubumbashi, Bukavu, Kolwezi, staying many months after the President had left. They are still deployed at Kisangani's Bangoka airport, where they appear to answer to no local commander and have caused trouble with MONUC troops there.^[41]

The GR is also supposed to undergo the integration process, but as of January 2007, only one battalion had been announced as been integrated. Formed at a brassage centre in the Kinshasa suburb of Kibomango, the battalion included 800 men, half from the former GSSP and half from the MLC and RCD Goma.^[43]

Equipment

Attempting to list the equipment available to the DRC's land forces is difficult; most figures are unreliable estimates based on known items delivered in the past. The IISS's Military Balance 2007 and Orbat.com's Concise World Armies 2005 give only slightly differing figures however (the figures below are from the IISS Military Balance 2007). Much of the Army's equipment is non-operational due to insufficient maintenance—in 2002 only 20 percent of the Army's armoured vehicles were estimated as being serviceable.^[44]

• Main Battle Tanks: 30 x Type 59, 20 x T-55, some T-72
• Reconnaissance vehicles: 40+ Type 62 light tanks, 40+ Panhard AML armoured cars, some EE-9 Cascavel
• Infantry Fighting Vehicles: 20 BMP-1
• Armoured Personnel Carriers: IISS reports M-113, Type 63, and wheeled vehicles including Casspir, Panhard M3, TH 390 Fahd, Wolf Turbo 2
• Artillery: 100 field guns, ranging from M116 howitzer 75 mm to D-30 130 mm, and 30 Type 81 MRL

In addition to these 2007 figures, In March 2010, it was reported that the DRC's land forces had ordered US$80 million worth of military equipment from Ukraine which included 20 T-72 main battle tanks, 100 trucks and various small arms.^[45] 20 x T-72 have been reported by World Defence Almanac. Tanks have been used in the Kivus in the 2005-9 period.

In February 2014, Ukraine revealed that it had achieved the first export order for the T-64 tank to the DRC Land Forces for 50 T-64BV-1s.^[46]

Other forces active in the country

Locations of MONUC units as at December 2009

There are currently large numbers of United Nations troops stationed in the DRC. The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) As of 31 August 2011 had a strength of over 19,000 peacekeepers (including 16,998 military personnel) and has a mission of assisting Congolese authorities maintain security.^[47] The UN and foreign military aid missions, the most prominent being EUSEC RD Congo,^[48] are attempting to assist the Congolese in rebuilding the armed forces, with major efforts being made in trying to assure regular payment of salaries to armed forces personnel and also in military justice. Retired Canadian Lieutenant General Marc Caron also served for a time as Security Sector Reform advisor to the head of MONUC.^[49]

Groups of anti-Rwandan government rebels like the FDLR, and other foreign fighters remain inside the DRC.^[50] The FDLR which is the greatest concern, was some 6,000 strong, as of July 2007. By late 2010 the FDLR's strength however was estimated at 2,500.^[51] The other groups are smaller: the Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army, the Ugandan rebel group the Allied Democratic Forces in the remote area of Mt Rwenzori, and the Burundian Parti pour la Libération du Peuple Hutu—Forces Nationales de Liberation (PALIPEHUTU-FNL).

Finally there is a government paramilitary force, created in 1997 under President Laurent Kabila. The National Service is tasked with providing the army with food and with training the youth in a range of reconstruction and developmental activities.^[52] There is not much further information available, and no internet-accessible source details the relationship of the National Service to other armed forces bodies; it is not listed in the constitution. President Kabila, in one of the few comments available, says National Service will provide a gainful activity for street children. Obligatory civil service administered through the armed forces was also proposed under the Mobutu regime during the 'radicalisation' programme of December 1974-January 1975; the FAZ was opposed to the measure and the plan 'took several months to die.'^[53]

References

1. Garrett, Nicholas; Sergiou, Sylvia; Koen Vlassenroot (2008). "Negotiated peace for extortion: the case of Walikale territory in eastern DR Congo". Journal of Eastern African Studies (Taylor and Francis) 3 (1): 9. doi:10.1080/17531050802682671. ISSN 1753-1063.
2. International Crisis Group, Security Sector Reform in the Congo, Africa Report No. 104, 13 February 2006, 17–18
3. Retrieved 1 November 2008
4. Henri Boshoff, The DDR Process in the DRC: a never-ending story, Institute for Security Studies, Pretoria, 2 July 2007
5. International Crisis Group, Bringing Peace to North Kivu, Africa Report No.133, 31 October 2007, p.13
6. Amnesty International, http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAFR620012007?open&of=ENG-COD Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) and the Reform of the Army], 25 January 2007, AI Index: AFR 62/001/2007
7. Autesserre, Séverine (2008). "The Trouble With Congo". Foreign Affairs (New York: Council on Foreign Relations) 87 (3): 104–105.
8. "monuc.org: FARDC troops estimated at 100,000, says EUSEC ::: 20/03/2006". Monuc.org. Retrieved 29 September 2008.
9. "Only just staying in one piece". The Economist. 28 July 2007. p. 42. Retrieved 4 August 2007.
10. Hans Romkena De Vennhoop Opportunities and Constraints for the Disarmament and Repatriation of Foreign Armed Groups in the DRC, Multi Country Demobilization and Recovery Program, April 2007, p.32
11. 12_fr.htm. Cdomuseum.be. Retrieved on 2013-09-04.
12. Clement, SSR in the DRC, SSR in Challenging Environments, DCAF, 2009, 92.
13. MONUC Human Rights report April 2007, paragraph 31 and MONUC via Le Potential Violation des droits de l’homme en RDC: état des lieux de la Monuc, 10 August 2007
14. MONUC via Reliefweb, RD Congo : Rapport mensuel des droits de l'homme - juillet 2007, paragraph 14
15. MONUC Human Rights Report via Le Potentiel Le Potentiel, 18 April 2007
16. MONUC's Nineteenth Report (S/2005/603) dated 26 September 2005, 7
17. MONUC Human Rights Report July 2007 (French), paragraph 11
18. Quoted from MONUC 21st Report, S/2006/390, 13 June 2006, 9. See also U.S. State Department, 06KINSHASA178, FARDC Second Brigade To Move To North Kivu 2 February 2006
19. 'Au cours du mois d'avril 2007, des soldats FARDC de la 6ème Brigade Intégrée basée à Jiba -60 km au Nord-Est de Bunia, Ituri-, ont été responsables de 14 cas de viol et de plusieurs cas de mauvais traitements à l'égard de la population locale.' MONUC via Le Potentiel (Kinshasa), Congo-Kinshasa: Violation des droits de l'homme en RDC, 22 June 2007
20. International Crisis Group, Congo:Bringing Peace to North Kivu, 31 October 2007, p.12
21. (French). Retrieved July 2009
22. "Les Dépęches". Lepotentiel.com. Retrieved 29 September 2008.
23. MONUC, Droits de l'Homme: Rapport Mensuel - Mai 2007, paragraph 22
24. Societecivile.cd, Imminence d'une mutinerie à Luberizi, à l'Est de la RD Congo, dans la Province du Sud Kivu, 23 May 2007
25. 06KINSHASA1260, 10 August 2006, and Turner, 2007, 139.
26. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Situation humanitaire en RDC (Sud Kivu) - Rapport hebdomadaire du 30 juin au 06 juillet 2007, 6 July 2007
27. MONUC via Congo Tribune, http://www.congotribune.com/nationale/article.php?article=1802
28. MONUC, http://www.monuc.org/news.aspx?newsID=15189
29. MONUC, http://www.monuc.org/news.aspx?newsID=14799, paragraph 25
30. 'Central Africa: A slow road to travel,' Africa Confidential, 11 January 2008, Vol. 49, No.1, p.9
31. Human Rights Watch (2009). Soldiers Who Rape, Commanders Who Condone: Sexual Violence and Military Reform in the Democratic Republic of Congo (PDF). New York: Human Rights Watch. ISBN 1-56432-510-5.. See also U.S. State Department, 08KINSHASA441 : The FARDC 14th Brigade: A Burden to Kabare Residents, 19 May 2008
32. MONUC via allafrica.com at Congo-Kinshasa: La Monuc a rendu hommages aux 85 soldats de la paix décédés en RDC depuis le début de sa mission
33. See also on 12th and 13th Battalions of 17th Brigade - Congo-Kinshasa: Second Monuc Training Session of FARDC Integrated Brigades Ends(06:Feb'08)
34. Radio Okapi May 2009, "Nindja : attaques des FDLR, 2 officiers FARDC tués et un disparu"
35. Reliefweb and MONUC
36. Le Potential, Congo-Kinshasa: Rapport de la Monuc pour avril 2007, graves violations des droits de l'homme en RDC via Allafrica.com, 21 May 2007. There is an ambiguous reference to the 'eleventh and twelfth brigades' in the ICG's 31 October 2007 report, 'Bringing Peace to North Kivu, Appendix C, page 25, indicating that these two formations may have been principally raised from the all-Hutu Local Defence Force in North Kivu, revived by Governor Eugene Serufuli, probably during the 2000–2002 period.
37. See Africa Confidential, 'A multinational road to army reform,' 24 July 2009, p.9, and Reuters, 'Factbox: International efforts at military reform in Congo,' 23 December 2009.
38. http://www.africom.mil/getArticle.asp?art=4032&lang=0 and Protection Strategies Incorporated What's New. Retrieved 3 August 2010. For Kabila request to Bush, see http://www.wikileaks.ch/cable/2010/02/10KINSHASA31.html.
39. Rogue army for a failed state Good Governance Africa. Published February 1, 2015. Retrieved March 29, 2015.
40. Joseph Kabila meets with security council Digital Congo. Published 5 November 2014. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
41. Amnesty International, Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) and the Reform of the Army, Section VII A, 25 January 2007, AI Index: AFR 62/001/2007
42. ICG February 2006 SSR report
43. 'Sortie officielle du premier bataillon integre de la Garde Republicaine des FARDC', Xinhua News Agency, 15 September 2006, cited in Amnesty International DRC Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) and the Reform of the Army, Section VII A, 25 January 2007, AI Index: AFR 62/001/2007
44. Jane's Sentinel Security Assessment—Central Africa. Issue 11—2002. Page 291.
45. AFP: Ukraine to supply tanks, other weapons to DR.Congo. Google.com (2010-03-16). Retrieved on 2013-09-04.
46. Ukraine to supply a total of 50 T-64BV1 main battle tanks to Democratic Republic of Congo - Armyrecognition.com, 13 February 2014
47. "MONUSCO Facts and Figures - United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo". un.org. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
48. "EU security sector reform mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo". The Council of the European Union. Retrieved 12 August 2007.
49. Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces, website
50. International Crisis Group, Congo: Consolidating the Peace, Africa Report No.128, 5 July 2007
51. MONUSCO, Over 1800 FDLR armed rebels surrender to MONUSCO in 2010, 3 February 2011
52. Jacques Ebenga & Thierry N'Landu The Congolese National Army: In search of an identity, Evolutions and Revolutions, Institute for Security Studies, Pretoria, 2005
53. Crawford and Young, The Rise and Decline of the Zairiean State, 1985, p.359-360