The objective of the mission was to enquire about the evolution of the situation in the aftermath of tensions that affected this territory of South Kivu province. With Kimia II military operations ongoing against the FDLR rebels, tensions rose following the refusal of some armed groups to be integrated into the FARDC, such as the Forces Républicaines Fédéralistes, (FRF) based in Kamombo in the high plateaux of Minembwe and the Maï Maï Yakutumba armed group based in Lulimba.

The discussions held with the different actors led to the Maï Maï Yakutumba armed group accepting to drop some of their preconditions for the integration of their combatants into the FARDC. The group, a signatory to the Goma peace agreements, claimed the credit for leading military operations the FDLR rebels in the territory of Fizi, which was previously under its control.

The Baraka talks helped to iron out some misunderstandings, resulting in the release, by both the Yakutumba and FRF armed groups, of more than 450 combatants for integration into the FARDC in Minembwe last week. These combatants became part of the 112th brigade which will form 3 battalions deployed in the high plateaux.

Other combatants continue to arrive at Fizi for integration, pending logistic means. Major General Dieudonné Amuli, coordinator of the Kimia II operations, who was part of the delegation said that “the issues of function and rank, as a precondition posed by armed groups for their integration are being sorted out gradually, which explains the over-enthusiasm shown by the ex-combatants for their integration".

He reported that in North and South Kivu provinces, combatants with weapons are immediately integrated into local units, while those without weapons are dispatched to the MONUC training centre in Luberizi on the Ruzizi plains, for standard integration.

The Mai Mai Yakutumba armed group requested MONUC’s assistance to help them transform into a political party. In this respect, MONUC insisted on the importance of reconciliation between communities.

Christian Manahl, coordinator of MONUC activities in eastern DRC, highlighted that MONUC was ready to help as far as possible, indicating that the Mission could help resolve inter-community tensions.

The local officials welcomed MONUC’s initiative. Kasindi Kat, deputy administrator for economic matters, deplored "the communication deficit between MONUC and the grassroots communities," when concluding the presentation on MONUC’s role and contribution to operation Kimia II.

The head of MONUC South Kivu, Aliou Sene, revealed that "MONUC disbursed US$ 8,000 daily to provide food rations to FARDC troops engaged in the operations. MONUC also contributes 40,000 litres of fuel daily, conducts medial evacuations, and provides the FARDC troops with water and medicines at the battle front.