Kivu conflict

Kivu conflict
Part of the aftermath of the Second Congo War

Approximate map of current military situation in Kivu.
For a detailed map, see here. Clashes and incidents map:[1]
Date
  • 2 June 2004[10] – 27 February 2009 (First phase)
    (5 years, 3 months, 3 weeks and 4 days)
  • 4 April 2012 – 7 November 2013 (Second phase)
    (1 year, 7 months and 3 days)
  • 31 January 2015[11] – present (Third phase)
    (9 years, 9 months, 3 weeks and 2 days)

(20 years, 5 months and 3 weeks)

Location
Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo (spillovers in Rwanda, Burundi and Ituri, Maniema and Tanganyika provinces, Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Status

Ongoing

  • FARDC victory against the CNDP in 2009 and the M23 movement in 2012
  • CNDP becomes a political party in the DRC
  • M23 movement signs peace agreement with the DRC government; renews fighting in 2022 known as the M23 offensive (2022–2023)
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo–Rwanda tensions since 2022 due to the M23 offensive
  • FDLR, Mai-Mai militias and other armed groups still active in Eastern DRC
  • UN and FARDC begin operation to defeat the FDLR and their allies at the start of 2015
Belligerents (see full list)
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo M23
    (from 2012; temporarily rebranded as "M27")[1]
  • CNDP (2006–2009)
Supported by:
Supported by:
Commanders and leaders
Strength
6,000–8,000 CNDP (2007)[14]
5,500+ M23 (2012)

2004: 20,000 total troops;[14]

  • Democratic Republic of the Congo 14,000 FARDC troops
  • 4,000–5,000 Mai Mai militia

2008:

  • 3,500 Mai-Mai militia[15]
  • 6,000–7,000 FDLR[15]
2013: 22,016 UN Monusco Uniformed personnel (2013)[16]		 2,000 FDLR[17]
1,500 ACPLS[18]
3,000 FNL/Palipehutu
Hundreds of FNL–Nzabampema		 1,000–1,250 (2018)[19]
Several thousand Raia Mutomboki militia
10,000+ other armed groups
Casualties and losses
CNDP: 233 killed[citation needed] FARDC: 71 killed[citation needed]
BDF: Unknown
United Nations 17+ killed[20][21]		 Unknown Unknown
More than 1.4 million internally displaced persons,[22]
hundreds of thousands of excess deaths,
11,873+ people killed
(including civilians and combatants of each sides)[23][24][20][25][26]

The Kivu conflict is an umbrella term for a series of protracted armed conflicts in the North Kivu and South Kivu provinces in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo which have occurred since the end of the Second Congo War. Including neighboring Ituri province, there are more than 120 different armed groups active in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Currently, some of the most active rebel groups include the Allied Democratic Forces, the Cooperative for the Development of the Congo, the March 23 Movement, and many local Mai Mai militias.[27] In addition to rebel groups and the governmental FARDC troops, a number of national and international organizations have intervened militarily in the conflict, including the United Nations force known as MONUSCO, and an East African Community regional force.

Conflict began in 2004 in the eastern Congo as an armed conflict between the military of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) and the Hutu Power group Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It has broadly consisted of three phases, the third of which is an ongoing conflict. Prior to March 2009, the main combatant group against the FARDC was the National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP). Following the cessation of hostilities between these two forces, rebel Tutsi forces, formerly under the command of Laurent Nkunda, became the dominant opposition to the government forces.

The United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) has played a large role in the conflict. With 21,000 soldiers in the force, the Kivu conflict constitutes the largest peacekeeping mission currently in operation. In total, 93 peacekeepers have died in the region, with 15 dying in a large-scale attack by the Allied Democratic Forces, in North Kivu in December 2017.[28] The peacekeeping force seeks to prevent escalation of force in the conflict, and minimise human rights abuses like sexual assault and the use of child soldiers in the conflict.[29]

CNDP was sympathetic to the Banyamulenge in Eastern Congo, an ethnic Tutsi group, and to the Tutsi-dominated government of neighboring Rwanda. It was opposed by the FDLR, by the FARDC, and by United Nations forces.

In July 2024, a United Nations report pointed to Uganda's links with the M23[30] and accused the Democratic Republic of Congo of having started in july 2023 arming others groups opposed to M23,[31]. M23 and others groups are engaged in a wide range of abuses in the region: recruitment of child soldiers,[32] violences against the civilian population,[33] looting, illegal mining and corruption.

  1. ^ "DR Congo: suspicion of an alleged recovery of M23 Rubaya". Silent War Journal. 31 August 2014. Archived from the original on 29 January 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  2. ^ "Rwanda 'protecting M23 DR Congo rebels'". BBC News. 5 June 2014. Archived from the original on 11 July 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  3. ^ "Susan Rice: the liberal case against her being secretary of state". The Guardian. 13 December 2012. Archived from the original on 21 June 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  4. ^ "Conflict Minerals, Rebels and Child Soldiers in Congo". YouTube. 22 May 2012. Archived from the original on 2 March 2018. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  5. ^ "Smoking guns". Transnational Institute. 28 July 2021. Archived from the original on 28 October 2021. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  6. ^ "FARDC hunting down APCLS in Masisi, and what about FDLR?". christoph vogel. 4 March 2014. Archived from the original on 17 January 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  7. ^ "Activists urge govt to arrest fugitive DRC warlord". News24. 7 January 2015. Archived from the original on 3 February 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  8. ^ "Mapping armed groups in eastern Congo". Archived from the original on 3 February 2015. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
  9. ^ "DRC: Who are the Raïa Mutomboki?". 17 July 2013. Archived from the original on 18 January 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  10. ^ "Rebel troops capture Bukavu and threaten third Congo war - Independent Online Edition > Africa". news.independent.co.uk. Archived from the original on 10 January 2008. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  11. ^ "'Scores dead' in Burundi clashes". Archived from the original on 1 August 2018. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  12. ^ "Reshuffle in the Congolese army – cui bono? - christoph vogel". christoph vogel. 28 September 2014. Archived from the original on 9 January 2015. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  13. ^ Chris McGreal (5 August 2014). "US tells armed group in DRC to surrender or face 'military option'". the Guardian. Archived from the original on 10 July 2017. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  14. ^ a b ""Congo rebels call for peace talks" BBC News Africa 2007-12-13". News.bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 16 November 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  15. ^ a b "DR Congo army pushes rebels back" Archived 16 November 2018 at the Wayback Machine BBC News Africa, 14 November 2008.
  16. ^ "MONUSCO Facts and Figures - United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo". Un.org. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  17. ^ "Monusco". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  18. ^ "Alliance of Patriots for a Free and Sovereign Congo (APCLS)". Archived from the original on 12 October 2017. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  19. ^ "Letter dated 20 May 2018 from the Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo addressed to the President of the Security Council" (PDF). 4 June 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 October 2020. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  20. ^ a b "Rebels kill 15 peacekeepers in Congo in worst attack on U.N. in recent". Reuters. 8 December 2017. Archived from the original on 6 October 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
  21. ^ Alexandra Johnson (11 October 2017). "The Allied Democratic Forces Attacks Two UN Peacekeepers in the DRC". Center for Security Policy. Archived from the original on 16 November 2018. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  22. ^ "DR Congo: Stepping up support for two million displaced". Archived from the original on 8 November 2013. Retrieved 22 January 2015.
  23. ^ "Kivu Conflict". The Polynational War Memorial. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
  24. ^ "Realtime Data (2017)". ACLED. Archived from the original on 19 September 2017. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
  25. ^ "DR Congo: New 'Kivu Security Tracker' Maps Eastern Violence". Human Rights Watch. 7 December 2017. Archived from the original on 12 December 2017. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
  26. ^ "ACLED Data (2018)". ACLED. Archived from the original on 12 February 2018. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  27. ^ "What is the latest conflict in the DR Congo about? - Features". Al Jazeera. 21 June 2022. Archived from the original on 14 May 2023. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  28. ^ correspondent, Jason Burke Africa (8 December 2017). "Islamist attack kills at least 15 UN peacekeepers and five soldiers in DRC". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 22 October 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2017 – via www.TheGuardian.com. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  29. ^ Section, United Nations News Service (8 December 2017). "UN News - DR Congo: Over a dozen UN peacekeepers killed in worst attack on 'blue helmets' in recent history". UN News Service Section. Archived from the original on 8 February 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
  30. ^ Zidi, Paulina (8 July 2024). "RDC: le soutien de l'Ouganda aux rebelles du M23 pointé par un nouveau rapport des experts de l'ONU". RFI (in French). Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  31. ^ "Combats. "Tentative désespérée" : la RDC accusée d'armer des milices dans le Nord-Kivu". Courrier International (in French). 4 January 2024. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  32. ^ de Blondin, Charles (8 July 2024). "Nord Kivu : un rapport de l'ONU met en lumière les responsabilités RDC et l'Ouganda, jusque-là sous-médiatisées". Contrepoints (in French). Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  33. ^ Lawson, Philippe (9 July 2024). "Un rapport de l'ONU pointe la responsabilité de la RDC dans le conflit au Nord-Kivu". L-Post (in French). Retrieved 12 July 2024.