Incident Summary:
8/29/2002: Ethnic Hema militia from the Front pour la Reconciliation et la Paix or the Front for Peace and Reconciliation took Human Rights Minister Ntumba Luaba hostage near Bunia, Ituri province, Congo (Kinshasa). Luaba had been on a mission to find delegates for a peace conference at the time that he was kidnapped; officials stated that he had approached a local chief to invite him to attend the conference and was taken hostage instead. Three others from Luaba's delegation were also kidnapped. The abductors demanded the release of at least ten of their own people in return for the ministers' safe return. All four of the abductees were released on September 1, 2002. The abduction had been based on a misunderstanding; the ten individuals the militia believed were being held captive were not in custody and were flown back to Bunia in order to facilitate the release of Luaba and his delegation.
Overview
GTD ID:
200208290008
When:
2002-08-29
Country:
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Region:
Sub-Saharan Africa
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Orientale
City:
Near Bunia
Location Details:
Near the northeastern town of Bunia on the Ugandan border
What
Attack Information
Type of Attack () |
Hostage Taking (Kidnapping) |
Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
Target Type: Government (General) |
Name of Entity |
Government ministers |
Specific Description |
Human Rights Minister Ntumba Luaba and his delegation |
Nationality of Target |
Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Target Type: Journalists & Media |
Name of Entity |
Les Coulisses' newspaper |
Specific Description |
Nicaise Kibelbel, editor of 'Les Coulisses' newspaper |
Nationality of Target |
Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Target Type: Violent Political Party |
Name of Entity |
A rebel splinter group |
Specific Description |
Thomas Lubanga, leader of Union of Congolese Patriots |
Nationality of Target |
Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Additional Information
Hostages |
Yes |
Number of Hostages |
4 |
US Hostages |
0 |
Days of Kidnapping |
3 |
Outcome |
Hostage(s) released by perpetrators |
Ransom |
No |
Property Damage |
No |
How
Weapon Information
Type |
Sub-type |
Unknown |
|
Weapon Details |
No specific mention of weapons was made |
Additional Information
Suicide Attack? | No |
Part of Multiple Incident? | No |
Criterion 1 () |
Yes |
Criterion 2 () |
Yes |
Criterion 3 () |
Yes |
Doubt Terrorism Proper () |
No |
Additional Information |
One source states that the assailants demanded the release of 10 people while two sources state that it was 12 people. |
Who
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators |
Unknown |
Number of Captured Perpetrators |
0 |
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties |
0 Fatalities / 0 Injured |
Total Number of Fatalities |
0 |
Number of U.S. Fatalities |
0 |
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
0 |
Total Number of Injured |
0 |
Number of U.S. Injured |
0 |
Number of Perpetrators Injured |
0 |
Sources
Sources
Finbarr O'Reilly, "Minister kidnapped in Congo's lawless east," Reuters News, August 30, 2002. |
"DRCongo human rights minister kidnapped by rebels," Agence France Presse, August 30, 2002. |
"Kidnapped minister released in return for 10-man Hema delegation," UN Regional Information Network IRIN, September 2, 2002. |
Criteria
Criteria 1
The act must be aimed at attaining a political, economic, religious, or social goal. In terms of economic goals, the exclusive pursuit of profit does not satisfy this criterion. It must involve the pursuit of more profound, systemic economic change.
Criterion 2
There must be evidence of an intention to coerce, intimidate, or convey some other message to a larger audience (or audiences) than the immediate victims. It is the act taken as a totality that is considered, irrespective if every individual involved in carrying out the act was aware of this intention. As long as any of the planners or decision-makers behind the attack intended to coerce, intimidate or publicize, the intentionality criterion is met.
Criterion 3
The action must be outside the context of legitimate warfare activities. That is, the act must be outside the parameters permitted by international humanitarian law (particularly the prohibition against deliberately targeting civilians or non-combatants.
Doubt Terrorism Proper
The existence of a "Yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper?" records reservation, in the eyes of GTD analysts, that the incident in question is truly terrorism. Such uncertainty, however, was not deemed to be sufficient to disqualify the incident from inclusion into the GTD. Furthermore, such a determination of doubt is subsequently coded by GTD analysts as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Alternate Designation
The determination of "yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper" by GTD analysts is coded as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Successful Attack
Success of a terrorist strike is defined according to the tangible effects of the attack. For example, in a typical successful bombing, the bomb detonates and destroys property and/or kills individuals, whereas an unsuccessful bombing is one in which the bomb is discovered and defused or detonates early and kills the perpetrators. Success is not judged in terms of the larger goals of the perpetrators. For example, a bomb that exploded in a building would be counted as a success even if it did not, for example, succeed in bringing the building down or inducing government repression.
Type of Attack
This field captures the general method of attack and often reflects the broad class of tactics used. It consists of the following nine categories:
- Assassination
- Armed Assault
- Unarmed Assault
- Bombing/Explosion
- Hijacking
- Hostage taking (Barricade Incident)
- Hostage taking (Kidnapping)
- Facility / Infrastructure Attack
- Unknown
Target Information
This field captures the general type of target. It consists of the following 22 categories:
- Abortion Related
- Airports & Airlines
- Business
- Government (General)
- Government (Diplomatic)
- Educational Institution
- Food or Water Supply
- Journalists & Media
- Maritime (includes Ports and Maritime facilities)
- Military
- NGO
- Other
- Police
- Private Citizens & Property
- Religious Figures/Institutions
- Telecommunication
- Terrorists
- Tourists
- Transportation (other than aviation)
- Unknown
- Utilities
- Violent Political Parties