‘An army rife with indiscipline’

THE Congolese army is riddled with corruption, falling apart because of indiscipline with underpaid soldiers looting homes and marauding through villages.

The recent heavy assault by rebels on government positions has seen army forces fleeing from bases and abandoning frontlines.

The army’s morale is broken. Instead of concentrating on defending its presence in North Kivu, leaders in Kinshasa have turned to UN peacekeeping forces in a desperate plea to hold onto the country’s eastern territory.

I recently visited the army’s base at Rumangabo, north of the eastern capital Goma, just days before it was attacked and overrun by rebels who used it to drive their forces further south and take control of key villages, roads and towns.

Rebels have now taken control of at least half a dozen key areas in the North Kivu province since seizing Rumangabo. The leader of the army said his troops were hungry, but fighting heavily armed Tutsi rebels being backed by Rwanda.

Army battalions had successfully fought off the rebels, known as the CNDP, before, but this time attacking soldiers were seriously armed, explained Lieutenant Colonel Vincent Tchomba Mulamba. “The CNDP were not able to successfully fight us last year. They could do nothing. But since September [this year] they have been seriously supported by Rwanda.”

The 24th army battalion produced ammunition, Rwandan cash and army uniforms taken from dead rebels which soldiers claimed were proof that Rwanda had special forces operating within Congo’s borders. But the morale of army soldiers is low and corruption is rife. Furthermore, most soldiers are often not getting their pay, which can amount to just a few dozen dollars at month for each man.

Only a handful of demoralised soldiers were patrolling Rumangabo that day, just before rebels seized the base and surrounding villages.

This project was funded by the Simon Cumbers' Media Challenge Fund, supported by Irish Aid.