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The Italian Ambassador to the DRC, Luca Attanasio has been murdered while on a fact finding mission on behalf of the UN World Food Programme. His Congolese driver and another Italian were also killed. Their unescorted convoy of seven people in two cars was attacked 15 km north of Goma.
There are questions being raised about the lack of an escort. The convoy was originally kidnapped and all passengers were taken into Virunga National Park, a dense forest notorious for hiding rebels. During a rescue effort by a patrol of park rangers, the ambassador, driver and bodyguard were shot.
Early reports indicate that the FDLR may be responsible, seeking to profit from a paid ransom. This is a Rwandan Hutu group known to be in the area that has caused trouble in Congo since the Rwandan genocide.
In January 1993, French Ambassador Philippe Bernard was killed during riots in Kinshasa sparked by troops opposing former President Mobutu Sese Seke.
The following photos were received directly from Kijiji Cha Amani.org.
The Kivu Security Tracker (KST) has published a report on the new mapping of armed groups in eastern DRC. In total, they have identified 122 different armed groups, and they have published a description of each of them. The KST is a joint project of the Congo Research Group and Human Rights Watch.
https://kivusecurity.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com/reports/39/2021%20KST%20report%20EN.pdf
In recent years, Drs. Philip and Nancy Wood have been alternating between time in Toronto and time in Bunia. You can likely guess which season of the year they plan to be out of Canada, but this year their departure from Toronto was delayed due to COVID-19.
These absolute saints have dedicated their entire lives to helping Africans through their advanced medical training, Philip from Cambridge University and Nancy from University of Toronto. They have fled from civil war in Liberia and sheltered people from tribal slaughter in the unrest during the Nyankunde Massacre. The Toronto Star completed an article on them in 2012 and they are still going strong. https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2012/08/20/congo_a_40year_mission_for_toronto_doctor_couple.html
Philip and Nancy created the following video on their recent return to Bunia. Brenda and I stayed with the Woods in 2008 and 2011, while helping them with projects at the hospital. (We first met in Beni in 2006.) This 3.5 minute video is a remarkable refresher of many familiar sites. The lab has new microscopes. My biggest takeaway from the video is the increase in cars in Bunia, even requiring a traffic cop! Downtown Bunia looks to be much more bustling, and the roads are paved! It was always notable how Uganda had cars while Congo had scooters or small motorcycles, but that has now changed.
The following photos were taken in 2008 for a comparison to the video. The first photo is the main street of Bunia looking from the CME lab near the MONUSCO HQ and looking towards the market area. The area still had UN soldiers on guard duty behind barbed wire. Barbed wire and soldiers were everywhere. Today, I understand the barbed wire to be gone yet there are still > 16,000 UN soldiers in Congo. It appears to still be an ongoing employment subsidy project of the UN to finance developing world soldiers.
Saasita has selflessly supported fellow Congolese for many years. She makes our support for the Kalondo health clinic and multiple projects possible here and here and here and here and here and here , promoted healthy hygiene practices in the face of Ebola and COVID-19 and has been involved with many other projects we haven’t posted about. The world needs more Saasitas.
Saasita was recently faced with a serious medical issue that required immediate surgery. We were privileged to provide her with the needed funding so she could access the medical treatment she needed.
Thankfully, she is making a strong recovery. She messaged: Hello dad, I don’t know how to thank you anymore, you saved my life. Today I am in good health, since the day we made the intervention the problem has disappeared. I am strong now despite the convalescence .
Road construction between eastern Congo and various access points in Uganda is set to commence next week. The economic importance of these roads will be significant for both countries.
According to the bilateral agreement with DRC, Uganda will contribute 20% of the total cost of the project estimated at USD $334.5 million, as a measure to boost trade between the two countries.
The roads being built include; Budiba Bridge across River Semuliki with Rwebisengo-Budiba-Bunia Access Road (78Km), Mpondwe/Kasindi-Beni Road (77km), Nebbi-Goli-Bunia Road (197km), Goma-Rutshuru-Bunagana Road (100km) and Bukavu-Goma-Butembo-Beni-Bunia Corridor (758km).
Bens In Congo first reported on this project between DRC and Uganda in November 2019. https://bensincongo.com/2019/11/17/important-road-agreement-signed/ In October 2020, a similar deal in principle was struck to also advance road construction linking South Sudan with DRC and Uganda. There aren’t many roads labeled as “good” in these 2015 maps! (Click to enlarge)
The following video was recorded in 2011 as we travelled south from Bunia to Butembo. As part of a massive deal to obtain Congo resources, China agreed to pave selected roads in the country. The video demonstrates a beautiful Chinese road as you approach Beni from the north (obviously a “good” road per the map). Beni to Butembo is one of the most scenic roads in the world but it has to be travelled at < 25 km per hour (at the most!).
This link is an excellent resource for detail on DRC roads. From this link, you can easily access excellent information for various infrastructure in DRC and other developing nations. https://dlca.logcluster.org/display/public/DLCA/2.3+Democratic+Republic+of+Congo+Road+Network
Bens in Congo 