Kamwina Nsapu rebellion

Kamwina Nsapu rebellion

Provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo affected by the rebellion at its peak (dark red).
Date8 August 2016 – c. 2019
(c. 3 years)
Location
Kasaï-Central, Kasaï, Kasaï-Oriental, Lomami and Sankuru; Democratic Republic of the Congo
Result Government victory
Belligerents

Kamwina Nsapu rebels[1]

  • Various independent militias[2]

 DR Congo
Allied militias:

Commanders and leaders

Jean-Pierre Mpandi "Kamwina Nsapu" †[6]

No central leader since August 2016[6]		 Democratic Republic of the Congo Joseph Kabila (until Jan. 2019)
Democratic Republic of the Congo Félix Tshisekedi (from Jan. 2019)
Democratic Republic of the Congo Gen. Dieudonné Banze
Democratic Republic of the Congo Gen. Éric Ruhorimbere[7]
Units involved
Unclear

Congolese security forces

Strength
10,000+[10] Thousands[1]
Casualties and losses
Thousands killed, captured, and surrendered Hundreds killed and wounded
Killed in total: c. 5,000 (UN estimate by August 2018);[5] 3,300+ (Catholic Church estimate by June 2017)[11][9]
Displaced: 1.09 million internally,[12] 35,000 to Angola[13]

The Kamwina Nsapu rebellion, also spelled Kamuina Nsapu rebellion,[14] was an uprising that took place in the Democratic Republic of the Congo between 2016 and 2019. It was instigated by the Kamwina Nsapu militia against state security forces [15] in the provinces of Kasaï-Central, Kasaï, Kasaï-Oriental, Lomami and Sankuru.[16][12] The fighting began after the militia, led by Kamwina Nsapu, attacked security forces in August 2016.

There was an ethnic aspect to the conflict:[14] the rebels were mostly Luba[15] and had selectively killed non-Luba.[17]

  1. ^ a b c de Freytas-Tamura, Kimiko (28 July 2017). "Who's in Congo's Mass Graves? And Why Are Soldiers Guarding Them?". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 26 September 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  2. ^ Byaruhanga, Catherine (24 April 2017). "DR Congo's Kasai conflict: Voodoo rebels take on Kabila". BBC. Archived from the original on 26 September 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  3. ^ "UN accuses Congo-backed militia of crimes against toddlers, others". The News Nigeria. 20 June 2017. Archived from the original on 20 June 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  4. ^ Mercy Corps 2019, p. 34.
  5. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference genocide was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b Hoebeke, Hans (21 March 2017). "Kamuina Nsapu Insurgency Adds to Dangers in DR Congo". International Crisis Group. Archived from the original on 25 August 2017. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
  7. ^ "Kamuina Nsapu: 5 ans après le conflit armé, les victimes attendent toujours que l'État leur rendre justice alors que les bourreaux circulent librement en toute impunité". Media Congo (in French). 19 August 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  8. ^ Jean-Jacques Wondo Omanyundu (18 February 2017). Flash DESC : Les images barbares des soldats congolais au Kasaï Central Archived 3 September 2018 at the Wayback Machine (in French). Kasai Direct. Published 14 December 2017.
  9. ^ a b "UN reports 251 killings in DR Congo's Kasai, 62 children among dead". The Independent. 5 August 2017. Archived from the original on 7 August 2017. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
  10. ^ Mercy Corps 2019, p. 46.
  11. ^ Hess, Max (27 July 2017). "Democratic Republic of Congo: Kamwina Nsapu violence foretells deadly conflict". ake. Archived from the original on 7 August 2017. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
  12. ^ a b "Congo-Kinshasa: Kamuina Nsapu Insurgency Adds to Dangers in DR Congo". All Africa. 21 March 2017. Archived from the original on 28 March 2017. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference Threaten New was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference reuters0317 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ a b "DRC's Kasai-Oriental province requires emergency assistance 600,000 says UN". International Business Times. 8 March 2017. Archived from the original on 8 March 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference irinnews0817 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference aje0317 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).