The UN Mission in Congo (Monusco) and the Congolese army have developed a joint military plan for operations against the FDLR rebels, the UN said yesterday, days after the deadline given to the militia group to surrender passed. 

The announcement followed a morning closed-door session of the UN Security Council in New York.

The deadline set by African leaders for the rebels to disarm voluntarily or face military action expired on January 2. 

Speaking to journalists at the UN Headquarters in New York, Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, said the Congolese army (FARDC) will play an essential role in operations against the FDLR.

"The UN Mission and the Congolese Army have developed a joint military plan for operations against the FDLR,” Dujarric said.

He observed that the militia group, mainly composed of elements blamed for the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda which claimed at least a million lives, had missed the voluntary disarmament deadline set by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) leaders.

"The UN Mission is working closely with the [Congolese] Government and regional and international stakeholders to address the situation.”

Dujarric said that "shaping operations have already commenced” as Monusco has pre-positioned its troops and enablers to support offensive operations against the FDLR in keeping with its mandate.

However, by press time there were no indications the UN mission and Kinshasa were moving closer to strike the militia whose leaders are wanted for crimes against humanity over abuses against Congolese citizens over the last two decades.

Instead, reports emerged last evening indicating that Monusco and Congolese troops had launched offensives against Burundi’s FNL rebels in eastern DR Congo in what UN officials claimed was a tactical move meant to pave way for an attack on FDLR rebels.

"These attacks allowed us to capture all the bases in the region held by these Burundian rebels,” Reuters quoted Monusco military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Felix Prosper Basse as saying.

A UN diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Monday’s strikes were intended primarily to free up positions from which Monusco and Congolese troops can attack the FDLR, the news agency added. "They (FNL) were occupying real estate (Monusco) needs to launch its operation against the FDLR.”

Observers have in the recent past watched in dismay as Congolese and Monusco troops seemed to prioritise operations against other armed groups in the restive parts of eastern DR Congo ahead of the long-awaited anti-FDLR campaign – raising questions about their commitment to fighting the militia, seen as allies of the Kinshasa establishment and certain regional actors.

Meanwhile, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the DR Congo, Martin Kobler, updated the Security Council earlier on Monday via video-conference on the FDLR issue.

Kobler briefed the Security Council in closed consultations. The Council is expected to issue a presidential statement, later this week, to reiterate its position on the need to launch military action against the FDLR, after the January 2 deadline expired. The statement will depend on the negotiations in the Council. The first draft was to be issued yesterday [Monday New York time] afternoon.

The Rwandan government on Friday renewed calls for urgent military action against FDLR rebels, arguing that the group had taken full advantage of the six months grace period to expand and consolidate its military and political organisation with the aim to further destabilise Rwanda and the region.

Speaking to The New Times yesterday, the Defence and Military spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Joseph Nzabamwita, reiterated that military action against FDLR was long overdue.

"Monusco and or FIB (Force Intervention Brigade – a combat force under the UN Mission with mandate to attack armed groups) have the mandate to act. DRC has obligation to act. It is now military action against FDLR without any further excuses.”

The FIB, authorised by the Security Council on March 28, 2013, forms part ofMade up of 3,069 troops, the FIB consists of South African, Tanzanian and Malawian crack infantry battalions, artillery and special forces. Along with the other, more traditional Monusco peacekeepers, the UN force is the largest in the world, with its personnel in excess of 23,000.

In late 2013, the FIB and the Congolese army coalition launched operations that crushed the M23 rebellion from eastern DR Congo.

However, the same military coalition has been accused of reluctance when it came to dealing with the FDLR, even as Monusco boasts a staggering budget of $2 billion a year.

ICGLR and SADC leaders are set to meet mid this month in Luanda, Angola to decide on the next course of action vis-à-vis the FDLR.