Skip to main content

An Angolan Incursion into the Congo





Angolan troops stationed in Cabinda, an Angolan exclave that is separated from the rest of country by a strip of territory belonging to Congo, crossed the border into Congo on Oct. 13. A rebel group called the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda has been sporadically active in the region since 1963, fighting for Cabinda's independence. Because of this rebel activity, Angola has around 4,000 troops deployed in Cabinda. Some 500 of these troops, a mechanized infantry battalion, participated in the incursion, taking up positions in the towns of Kimongo, Pangui, Iloupaya, Yandza and Gandabina -- all roughly 5 kilometers (3 miles) across the border -- as they pursued the Cabinda rebels. The rebels frequently use the border to escape the Angolan military, and although Brazzaville does not support the rebels, the inability of its security forces to impede their movement in Congolese territory enables the rebels to continue to elude Angolan security operations.

However, once Angolan forces had taken up positions in Congo, they did not continue to pursue the rebels. Instead, they captured some 46 Congolese soldiers who were sent to the border in response to the incursion. The countries have traditionally had positive and constructive relations, and while the capture of Congolese soldiers could be seen as an act of aggression, Angolan forces have refrained from violence. Angola will seek assurances from Congo that it will step up efforts to interdict Cabinda rebels seeking refuge in its territory. However, there is little that Congo can do to stop rebel activity -- the area in question is remote, the border is porous and the Congolese military is hardly capable of monitoring and controlling the length of the border. Despite Congo's best efforts, it is likely that the rebels will continue to take advantage of the border.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why States Still Use Barrel Bombs

Smoke ascends after a Syrian military helicopter allegedly dropped a barrel bomb over the city of Daraya on Jan. 31.(FADI DIRANI/AFP/Getty Images) Summary Barrel bombs are not especially effective weapons. They are often poorly constructed; they fail to detonate more often than other devices constructed for a similar purpose; and their lack of precision means they can have a disproportionate effect on civilian populations. However, combatants continue to use barrel bombs in conflicts, including in recent and ongoing conflicts in Africa and the Middle East, and they are ideally suited to the requirements of resource-poor states. Analysis Barrel bombs are improvised devices that contain explosive filling and shrapnel packed into a container, often in a cylindrical shape such as a barrel. The devices continue to be dropped on towns all over Syria . Indeed, there have been several documented cases of their use in Iraq over the past months, and residents of the city of Mosul, which was re...
Post a Comment
Read more

Russia Looks East for New Oil Markets

Click to Enlarge In the final years of the Soviet Union, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev began orienting his foreign policy toward Asia in response to a rising Japan. Putin has also piloted a much-touted pivot to Asia, coinciding with renewed U.S. interest in the area. A good expression of intent was Russia's hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in 2012 in Vladivostok, near Russia's borders with China and North Korea. Although its efforts in Asia have been limited by more direct interests in Russia's periphery and in Europe, Moscow recently has been able to look more to the east. Part of this renewed interest involves finding new export markets for Russian hydrocarbons. Russia's economy relies on energy exports, particularly crude oil and natural gas exported via pipeline to the West. However, Western Europe is diversifying its energy sources as new supplies come online out of a desire to reduce its dependence on Russian energy supplies . This has ...
Post a Comment
Read more

LONDON POLICE INDIRECTLY ENCOURAGE CRIMINALS TO ATTACK RUSSIAN DIPLOMATIC PROPERTY

ILLUSTRATIVE IMAGE A few days ago an unknown perpetrator trespassed on the territory of the Russian Trade Delegation in London, causing damage to the property and the vehicles belonging to the trade delegation , Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during the September 12 press briefing. The diplomat revealed the response by the London police was discouraging. Police told that the case does not have any prospects and is likely to be closed. This was made despite the fact that the British law enforcement was provided with video surveillance tapes and detailed information shedding light on the incident. By this byehavior, British law inforcements indirectly encourage criminals to continue attacks on Russian diplomatic property in the UK. Zakharova’s statement on “Trespassing on the Russian Trade Mission premises in London” ( source ): During our briefings, we have repeatedly discussed compliance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, sp...
1 comment
Read more