RUTSHURU, Congo — Surrounded by insurgent fighters, the bespectacled leader of Congo’s rebels held his first public rally Saturday in newly conquered territory, telling the few thousand people who showed up: “Do not be afraid.”
But winning over the terrified population of a half-empty town that accuses rebels of looting, rape and forced recruitment won’t be easy.
“Nobody wants them here,” said a 29-year-old human-rights worker, after he was out of earshot of plainclothed rebel intelligence agents who trailed him and every other civilian that an Associated Press reporter tried to talk to. He declined to be identified because he feared for his safety.
Clashes between government forces and Laurent Nkunda’s men surged in August, sparking a humanitarian crisis that has uprooted more than 250,000 people from their homes and prompted the U.N. to approve 3,100 more peacekeepers for the troubled Central African nation.
Nkunda says he is fighting to protect Congo’s minorities, especially ethnic Tutsis who he says are threatened by Hutu militias from Rwanda who fled here after participating in Rwanda’s 1994 genocide. Critics say that Nkunda is more interested in raw power, though, and that his war has only increased resentment against Tutsis.
Nkunda was heavily guarded by scores of rebel fighters, who crisscrossed Rutshuru’s main road in jeeps they had captured from the army resembling World War II- era relics. Rebels spread out along the edges of the crumbling stadium, patting down the roughly 3,000 who entered.
He began his speech with the words: “I know there are people who like us and there are some who don’t, but I want to talk.”
The wiry rebel leader called for unity among the vast Central African nation’s myriad ethnic groups, saying conflict among them was destroying efforts to rebuild the country.
Some listening appeared deeply distrustful. One 30-year-old named Bakanja Kanze said residents were afraid because they had heard rebels massacred dozens of people in the adjacent town of Kiwanja.
When a rebel security agent stood behind Kanze’s shoulder, Kanze’s view suddenly began to change.
“I voted for Kabila, but he was no good,” Kanze said, clearly intimidated. “Things are better now.”
