Ituri conflict

Ituri conflict
Part of the Second Congo War and the Kivu conflict

FRPI Militia, waiting with MONUSCO peacekeepers, 2019
DateMain conflict: 1999–2003[4] (4 years)
Low level conflict: 2003 – present[5] (21 years)
Location
Ituri, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Status Ongoing[6]
Belligerents

Lendu ethnic group:

Mai-Mai Simba

ADF
Islamic State IS-CAP
Mai-Mai Kyandenga[2]

Hema ethnic group:

 Uganda[3]

 DR Congo (FARDC)
 UN (MONUC)
 EU (Artemis)
Commanders and leaders
Germain Katanga (FRPI) (POW)
Mathieu Cui Ngudjolo (FRPI) (POW)
Etienne Lona (FNI)
Cobra Matata (FRPI/FPJC) Surrendered
Mbadu Abirodu (FRPI) Surrendered[7][8]
Barnaba Kakado (FRPI) (POW)[9]		 Jérôme Kakwavu (FAPC) Surrendered
James Kazini
Joseph Kabila (2001–2019)
Félix Tshisekedi (since 2019)
Kabundi Innocent[10]
Babacar Gaye[11]
Units involved
unknown
Strength

Total: 3,000 militia (2005)[citation needed]

FRPI: 1,000 militia (2015)[12]

750 FARDC troops (2004)[citation needed]

2,000 MONUC peacekeepers
6,000 FARDC troops (2005)[citation needed]
Casualties and losses
~63,770 killed[a]
140,000 civilians displaced[b]

The Ituri conflict (French: Guerre d'Ituri) is an ongoing low intensity asymmetrical conflict between the agriculturalist Lendu and pastoralist Hema ethnic groups in the Ituri region of the north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). While the two groups had fought since as early as 1972, the name "Ituri conflict" refers to the period of intense violence between 1999 and 2003.[17] Armed conflict continues to the present day.

The conflict was largely set off by the Second Congo War, which had led to increased ethnic consciousness, a large supply of small arms, and the formation of various armed groups. More long-term factors include land disputes, natural resource extraction, and the existing ethnic tensions throughout the region. The Lendu ethnicity was largely represented by the Nationalist and Integrationist Front (FNI) while the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) claimed to be fighting for the Hema.

The conflict was extremely violent. Large-scale massacres were perpetrated by members of both ethnic factions.[17] In 2006, the BBC reported that as many as 60,000 people had died in Ituri since 1998.[13] Médecins Sans Frontières said "The ongoing conflict in Ituri, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has led to more than 50,000 deaths, more than 500,000 displaced civilians and continuing, unacceptably high, mortality since 1999."[18] Hundreds of thousands of people were forced from their homes, becoming refugees.

In June 2003, the European Union began Operation Artemis, sending a French-led peacekeeping force to Ituri. The EU force managed to take control of the regional capital of Bunia. Despite this, fighting and massacres continued in the countryside.[17] In December 2003, the Hema-backed UPC split and fighting decreased significantly.[17]

"Long-dormant" land disputes between "Hema herders and Lendu farmers" were re-ignited[19] in December 2017 resulting in a surge of massacres with entire Hema villages razed and over a hundred casualties. Tens of thousands fled to Uganda. While the massacres by Lendu militia ceased in mid-March 2018, "crop destruction, kidnappings, and killings" continued.[20][21] The UN estimated that as many as 120 Hema villages were attacked by Lendu militia from December 2017 through August 2018.[22]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference PFcJ was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Ituri : 4 miliciens Mai-mai Kyandenga neutralisés par les FARDC à Otamabere". March 21, 2022.
  3. ^ "ituri: "covered in blood"". www.hrw.org. January 27, 2024. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference AlL was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference THaI was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo". Global Conflict Tracker. January 27, 2024. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Kow was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "The case of the prosecutor vs. Katanga and Chui" (PDF). AMCC. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 23, 2015. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference YUGo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Ituri : les Fardc anticipent une incursion des assaillants à Djungu Archived April 24, 2019, at the Wayback Machine (in French). Digitalcongo.net. Published 24 April 2019.
  11. ^ "Ituri: sécurité, il y a des progrès mais la vigilance s'impose, selon Babacar Gaye". July 20, 2010. Archived from the original on July 23, 2012. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
  12. ^ "RDC: le groupe armé du FRPI de nouveau actif dans l'Ituri" (in French). April 6, 2015. Archived from the original on February 3, 2016. Retrieved January 24, 2016.
  13. ^ a b "Eastern DR Congo rebels to disarm" Archived September 4, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, BBC, Published: 2006/11/30 01:39:24 GMT, By Karen Allen, BBC News, Bunia
  14. ^ a b "Full Dashboard | ACLED". August 28, 2019. Archived from the original on November 1, 2022. Retrieved February 22, 2021.
  15. ^ "ACLED". May 29, 2019. Archived from the original on November 29, 2020. Retrieved February 22, 2021.
  16. ^ "Armed attacks kill hundreds, displace 40,000 civilians in northeast DR Congo". United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. March 19, 2021. Archived from the original on April 11, 2021. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  17. ^ a b c d Uppsala Conflict Data Program Conflict Encyclopedia, Conflict Name: Hema – Lendu, Conflict Summary, Non-state Conflict Archived June 26, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  18. ^ Ahoua, L.; Tamrat, A.; Duroch, F.; Grais, R. F.; Brown, V. (2006). "High mortality in an internally displaced population in Ituri, Democratic Republic of Congo, 2005: results of a rapid assessment under difficult conditions". Global Public Health. 1 (3): 195–204. doi:10.1080/17441690600681869. PMID 19153907. S2CID 22671386.
  19. ^ "UN warns situation in DR Congo reaching 'breaking point' UN warns situation in DR Congo reaching 'breaking point'". Deutsche Welle (DW). March 2, 2018. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved August 1, 2018. The second deadly attack in a month happened where land disputes have reignited a long-dormant ethnic conflict and caused thousands to flee. The UN has warned the situation in the DRC has reached "a breaking point."
  20. ^ Cite error: The named reference Vice_Turse_Congo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  21. ^ Cite error: The named reference Vice_Turse_Congo_Chap5 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  22. ^ Cite error: The named reference Vice_Turse_Congo_Chap2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


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