The Dongo conflict was a minor conflict centered in the town of Dongo, on the left bank of the

Ubangi River The Ubangi River (), also spelled Oubangui, is the largest right-bank tributary of the Congo River in the region of Central Africa. It begins at the confluence of the Mbomou (mean annual discharge 1,350 m3/s) and Uele Rivers (mean annual dischar ...

in Sud-Ubangi District,

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

. Violence initially broke out in late October 2009 after a local dispute over fishing rights. This destabilised the region and led to a spiral of violence, and an exodus of civilians attempting to flee from the fighting. By December 2009, this conflict was one of the biggest conflicts of the

United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or MONUSCO, an acronym based on its French name , is a United Nations peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) which was est ...

(MONUC) and the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

; more than 168,000 people had fled their homes, many of them crossing into the neighbouring

Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya Kongó), also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply either Congo or the Congo, is a country located in the western coast of Central Africa to the w ...

. An intervention by the

Congolese army Congolese or Kongolese may refer to: African peoples * Congolese people (disambiguation) * Kongo people, a Bantu ethnic group who live along the Atlantic coast of Africa from Pointe-Noire (Republic of Congo) to Luanda, Angola, primarily defined b ...

and MONUC brought the conflict to an end by 13 December 2009.

Violence

Initial attacks

Dongo is a small town on the

in the

on its frontier with the

. The conflict at Dongo began in July 2009 with a dispute over the ownership of fish ponds claimed by people from Enyele and Monzaya villages which had been disputed since 1946. In the confrontation, seven policemen were killed and ethnic tensions increased... By 5 November 2009 at least 16,000 civilians had fled to the neighbouring

(ROC) and Dongo had become a ghost town.

Escalation

Further to the south, in Saba-Saba and in the Bomboma area, new fighting started on 17 November and the residents and the refugees from Dongo had to flee.. The refugees included members of the Congolese navy, which patrols the

; they had to flee with their families because they had neither weapons nor ammunition to protect themselves. More clashes occurred in the village of Buburo on 20 November. Although the inhabitants had already fled, the attackers destroyed the houses there, including the

UNHCR The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrat ...

offices, which had also earlier evacuated its staff. By 30 November 2009 more than 70,000 people had been displaced. About half of the displaced remained in DRC, taking temporary shelter in locations such as

Kungu Kungu is a town and capital of one of the four territories of Sud-Ubangi Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Ubangi River forms the western boundary of Kungu Territory, separating it from the Republic of the Congo. The Ngiri River, ...

, Bokonzi, Bomboma and Bonzene. The rest of the displaced crossed the Ubangi River into ROC. The unrest was led by an

animist Animism (from Latin: ' meaning 'breath, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things— animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather systems ...

priest called whose followers apparently included former members of the

Movement for the Liberation of Congo The Movement for the Liberation of the Congo (french: Mouvement de Libération du Congo, or MLC) is a political party in Democratic Republic of the Congo. Formerly a rebel group operating in the Democratic Republic of Congo that fought the govern ...

led by

Jean-Pierre Bemba Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo (born 4 November 1962) is a politician in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He was one of four Vice-Presidents of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, vice-presidents in the transitional government of the Democrat ...

which fought the Congolese government during the

Second Congo War The Second Congo War,, group=lower-alpha also known as the Great War of Africa or the Great African War and sometimes referred to as the African World War, began in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in August 1998, little more than a year a ...

(1998–2003). Udjani's supporters patrolled the Ubangi river, shooting at barges filled with people trying to escape. . By 10 December the conflict had left 100 dead and forced 115,000 people to flee their homes, two thirds of them into the Republic of the Congo, according to the UNHCR. Amid growing violence, the creation of an anti-government rebel group called the " Resistance Patriots of Dongo" (''Patriotes-Résistants de Dongo'') was declared by Ambroise Lobala Mokobe but appears to have had little presence on the ground. The

(MONUC) rushed peacekeeping troops to Dongo in an effort to protect the local population. First peace keepers to reach Dongo were a MILOB team led by Maj Sankha Jayamaha (Sri Lanka Army) from Gemina team site with some Ghana peace keepers to provide real time information and to compromise the prevailing situation. Peace keepers were able to reached to Dongo and also were able to facilitate UN official to reach Dongo by heli by making favorable and safe atmosphere. after some days a MONUC helicopter that was restocking the 20 troops stationed came under gunfire from armed men. The helicopter crew, all of Russian nationality, evacuated 25 people, including five injured people who were taken to

Brazzaville Brazzaville (, kg, Kintamo, Nkuna, Kintambo, Ntamo, Mavula, Tandala, Mfwa, Mfua; Teke: ''M'fa'', ''Mfaa'', ''Mfa'', ''Mfoa''Roman Adrian Cybriwsky, ''Capital Cities around the World: An Encyclopedia of Geography, History, and Culture'', ABC-CL ...

for emergency medical treatment.

Recapture of Dongo

The Congolese army (FARDC) recaptured Dongo on 13 December. According to the Congolese press among the rebels who had captured several towns in the area were former soldiers of the Congolese army, deserters, and former members of the

Zaire Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire was, ...

an army who had sought refuge in ROC. At the weekly MONUC press conference of 16 December 2009, it was announced by MONUC spokesperson Madnodje Mounoubai that the first MONUC peacekeeping troops were deployed in Dongo, as well as in nearby Bozene. The 500 MONUC troops consisted of soldiers from the

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Tog ...

ian,

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

n and

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

ian contingents as well as troops from the

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by Hon ...

n Special Forces. Military equipment such as armored personnel carriers, transport and combat helicopters were also at their disposal to support their mission.

Refugee crisis

The crisis in Dongo led to an exodus of the civilian population, first due to the advance of the rebels and then due to the counter-attacks of the army. Humanitarian agencies faced major logistical obstacles since refugees were spread across an area of 500 km² along the banks of the Ubangi River. With its local staff, the UNHCR has supported the creation of nine clinics around the highest concentration of refugees, where there is a greater need for medicines and medical staff. There are also mobile medical centers for remote areas. Humanitarian agencies also installed six large water tanks with a total capacity of 60,000 litres near

Bétou Bétou is a town on the right bank of the Ubangi River in the Likouala Department, Republic of the Congo. Bétou is a "sous-prefecture" and has its own mayor. It is the border town with the Central African Republic (CAR), approximately from t ...

in the northern Republic of Congo, about north of Dongo.. By 22 December, the number of refugees was estimated to be 168,000.

References

External links

Armed group claims firing at UN chopper in DRC
(''Mail & Guardian'', 27 November)
DR Congo: After Dongo violence, 90,000 refugees and displaced
(Missionary International Service News Agency (MISNA), 2 December)

(Congo Siasa, 10 December)
DR.Congo troops take back town from tribal forces: govt
(Agence France Presse, 14 December)
Congo army retakes stronghold of western uprising
(Reuters, 15 December)
RDC-Congo-Brazzaville : une mission parlementaire conjointe attendue à Likouala et à Dongo
(Radio Okapi, 21 December)
Dongo : Un bataillon de la PIR décimé?
(''Congo Indépendant'', 23 December)
Alliance de Patriotes pour la Refondation du Congo

Press Release
(20 December) {{Post-Cold War African conflicts Civil wars involving the states and peoples of Africa 2009 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Wars involving the Democratic Republic of the Congo Conflicts in 2009