Country Reports on Terrorism 2012

community engagement and youth empowerment; promoting interfaith dialogue and religious
tolerance; and media and outreach work. President Déby instructed the High Council for Islamic
Affairs to closely monitor religious activities in mosques in order to counter violent extremism.
Every December 10 is celebrated as the day of Peace in Chad. Instituted in 2011, this Peace Day
is intended to bring together Chadians from different religious groups to celebrate living in
peace, as well as to raise awareness of the threat of violent extremism. In his address to the
nation, President Déby regularly advocated for peaceful cohabitation of Chadians from different
religious backgrounds.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO
Overview: There was no credible evidence to indicate a significant presence of al-Qa’ida (AQ)affiliated
groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The DRC is a vast country
bordered by nine neighbors. The Government of the DRC lacked complete control over some
areas of its territory, especially in the east where numerous armed groups operated with impunity
and had very limited capacity to monitor and disrupt potential terrorist threats. Starting in April
2012, the rebellion of the newly formed M23 armed group in North Kivu against the
Government of the DRC and the armed forces (FARDC) required the complete military and
political attention of the government and the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC
(MONUSCO), as FARDC and peacekeeping forces were redeployed in vast numbers to North
Kivu. The resulting vacuum of authority and lack of security forces in areas not under M23
control allowed multiple other armed groups greater freedom of action to expand their territory
and retake the offensive against traditional rivals in land disputes.
Counterterrorism was not a priority issue for the government. There were ongoing efforts by the
International Conference of the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), the AU, and the UN to bring
stability to eastern DRC and the region. Steps to counter activities of the Democratic Forces for
the Liberation of Rwanda (known by its French acronym, FDLR) were an element of these
efforts.
The most active terrorist group in the DRC was the LRA, a rebel movement formed in Uganda in
the late 1980s and early 1990s which continues to operate and find safe haven in the northeastern
DRC along the border with South Sudan and the Central African Republic. The LRA’s
propensity for attacking civilians and using fear as a weapon prompted the State Department to
designate the armed group as a Terrorist Exclusion List organization under section 212 of the
Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended by the USA PATRIOT Act in 2001. By
designating these groups, the Secretary strengthened the United States ability to exclude
supporters of terrorism from the United States or to deport them if they are found within U.S.
borders. In 2008, the U.S. Department of State designated Joseph Kony, the leader of the LRA,
pursuant to Executive Order 13224, as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist.” Despite an
ICC arrest warrant for crimes against humanity and U.S.-supported, regionally-led anti-LRA
operations, Kony and much of his cadre remain at large in the DRC and the region. In 2012,
most LRA activities were restricted to Orientale Province.
The ADF/NALU is made up of Ugandan opposition forces, and operates in North Kivu province.
The Ugandan government asserts that the ADF/NALU constitutes an Islamist armed group with
potential ties to AQ. However, these alleged links have not been substantiated. The ADF/NALU
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