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ENDS

Slowly, slowly

We could hear the shooting moving towards us

We grabbed the children and our families and fled

We kept going until finally we arrived in Rugari

Kananira Sekazuba, Kibati IDP camp, near Goma, Congo

We stayed in Rugari for a couple of months

Then we were told that all IDPs had to go to Kibumba

Then more fighting broke out and we were forced to leave Kibumba and flee again


















TITLE: CONGO: KNOWING THE ENEMY


















NAMESTRAP: Cpl Ngendaha Leonce, Former FDLR fighter

To get money and food we would rob the villagers and take their crops

We were never paid in the FDLR, nothing

- Did you attack the civilians in the villages?

Yes, it's true we attacked them

But the rape and killing was not organised, it was down to individuals















We were fighting to go back to Rwanda one day and take back power

The Tutsis had hi-jacked the power from the Hutus and we wanted it back

So the aim was to return and
take the power back from the Tutsis
















We suffer a lot because of the FDLR

They beat people up

They kill and rob us systematically
















CAPTION: Langira village, Walikale district RDF forward base




The Interahamwe have been in our area since 1997

We went into the bush to escape the Interahamwe
but when we came back our village was destroyed

Even worse is that they rape and torture us. We live in total fear of them

They live in the bush, then they come to the village

and they kill people with machetes

The problem is that the Interahamwe can't recognise you are a human being like them

When they come, they immediately rape your wife

They are raping your wife and if you are shouting or trying to stop them they come and cut you with machetes

They have no limits, none of the basic human limits

They just don't see that that man, that child, that
woman they are raping is a human being too

Everyone has to flee into the bush. Others go to Goma

Every time we ask for help in this area but there is never any response

So everyone stays in the bush

It is like we are worth nothing


When [the Rwandan Defence Force] leaves the FDLR will be back

When the operation ends it will not be good

Really, when it ends we will be in great danger




We heard on the radio that the operation against the FDLR would last 20 or 30 days

So we decided to hide in the forest until the RDF soldiers
went away and then we would return

In all there are 15 battalions of men hiding in the forest

Each battalion has 300 men





















We are fleeing the Interahamwe

We have left Brazza. Now the RDF is gone there is no one to defend us

If there is no military there we risk the FDLR finding us

My name is Bina Moto, son of Mupenda. I am secretary of Masisi

Now I am leaving because of the Interahamwe. They make us suffer terribly

They rape the women

They kill the women, the children, the old men and the old women






































The ideology of genocide in the FDLR is very strong. It comes from the highest levels


It is the ideology of 1993-94, it is still very strong. It is promoted from the highest levels










They want to commit the same genocide here to us as they did in Rwanda

When the military is no longer here to protect us

The Interahamwe will definitely kill us all





























 
Conflict between the government and various militias has consumed eastern Congo for over a decade
More than one million people have had to leave their homes 
In January 2009 a groundbreaking agreement between Rwanda and Congo seemed to offer a way to end the conflict and bring stability to the region
A joint operation would combine the two countries' military with local militias
Together, they would fight a common enemy: the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda - the FDLR

Photojournalist Susan Schulman traveled with the Rwandan Defence Force as they entered the Congo to confront the FDLR
A Hutu nationalist group, the FDLR was responsible for the Rwandan genocide in 1994
They fled from Rwanda to Congo and changed their name but are still known to people here as the Interahamwe
They prey on the civilian population in eastern Congo, appearing from the bush to rob, rape and kill
An FDLR soldier who surrendered to the Rwandan forces gives an idea of why they are so feared












The FDLR are based in the dense forest of eastern Congo
The area is impassable to ground vehicles
Supplies have to be airlifted to an improvised landing zone hacked out of the jungle
Finding the FDLR on their own turf is not going to be easy
And this is no rag tag militia. They are highly organised, well armed, and have a clear aim








The Rwandan troops hire local villagers to carry their supplies. There are no jobs here. The villagers are eager for work
The Rwandans enter the heart of Walikale. Like most of eastern Congo it can only be penetrated on foot
Far from any government presence, local militias have plagued the area for years
This one, Pareco, joined the Congolese military in January to fight the FDLR
Local villagers are yet to see much benefit from the new agreement





The Rwandans press on to the frontline. The terrain is difficult, but they cover 27 kilometres in five hours
Here, they come across their Congolese counterparts in the bush
The alliance is fragile. There's distrust on both sides after long years of fighting among Rwanda, Congo and militias from both countries
So although the operation is a joint one, the forces operate in parallel
Eventually, the Rwandans make camp near the village of Langira

It isn't long before their presence draws out the local villagers, who have been in the bush, hiding from the FDLR

































Back at the Rwandan camp, a captured member of the FDLR reveals the scale of the problem








That's four and a half thousand well-armed men who have been living in the area for up to fifteen years
Fighting the FDLR in this terrain is dangerous, even for the Rwandan Defence Force
The camp commander receives news of intense fighting nearby
One of his soldiers has been killed
A group of people has gathered below the camp
They left their village, Brazza, as it had become too dangerous to stay there
The presence of the Rwandan forces offers them a brief period of respite from FDLR attacks














These people don't know what the future holds. They've left their village with no clear destination in mind
Their sole objective is to stay one step ahead of the Interahamwe
The Rwandans don't have enough manpower to halt their advance and protect the civilians
A smoke signal guides a helicopter in to repatriate the dead soldier's body

The region is so remote there is no other way to reach the forward base
Operations against the FDLR continue, but the Rwandans realise there is a limit to how much they can do here
SYNC: 'We don't know what will follow next because our operations continue. We would very much like to protect the civilians
SYNC CONTINUES: 'We are not capable of carrying out both tasks as we would want it to be done
SYNC CONTINUES: 'If there was a force coming behind us that would be fantastic, but it's not forthcoming' SYNC ENDS
VO: The FDLR continue to dominate the region
They don't want to negotiate







In the end, it seems the Rwandans' efforts and those of the Congolese government will only give the civilians a temporary reprieve
When the Rwandan forces withdraw from one area the FDLR moves back in to prey on the civilian population there









Congo: Knowing the Enemy
English transcript, 15 April 2010

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