Uvira is a city strategically located in the South Kivu Province of the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Covering approximately 16 square kilometers and with an estimated population of 726,000 as of 2024, it borders Bafuliru Chiefdom and Ruzizi Plain Chiefdom to the north, Bavira Chiefdom to the south, and Lake Tanganyika and the Ruzizi River to the east. These rivers form natural boundaries between the DRC and Burundi. Located in the Ruzizi Plain at a low altitude, the city lies between Burundi's Congo-Nile ridge and the Mitumba mountains.
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. 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.
Mulenge is a village encircled by hills in the Kigoma groupement (grouping), within Bafuliiru Chiefdom, located in the Uvira Territory, South Kivu, in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is situated on the high plateaus of the Itombwe massif, overlooking the locality of Uvira. The area has conventionally been inhabited by various ethnic groups, including the remnants of the autochthonous population of African Pygmies, as well as Bantu ethnic groups such as the Mbuti, Fuliiru, and Nyindu. The region boasts high agricultural productivity, with two harvests typically achievable each year.
The March 23 Movement, often abbreviated as M23 and also known as the Congolese Revolutionary Army, is a Congolese rebel military group. Based in eastern areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), it operates mainly in the province of North Kivu, which borders both Uganda and Rwanda. The M23 rebellion of 2012 to 2013 against the DRC government led to the displacement of large numbers of people. On 20 November 2012, M23 took control of Goma, a provincial capital with a population of a million people, but it was requested to evacuate it by the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region because the DRC government had finally agreed to negotiate. In late 2012, Congolese troops, along with UN troops, retook control of Goma, and M23 announced a ceasefire and said that it wanted to resume peace talks.
Bunyakiri is a town located in the high plateau of Kalehe Territory in the South Kivu Province in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Bunyakiri is nearby the Bulehe and Mulamba villages. It is mainly inhabited by Tembo, Havu, Twa and Hunde ethnic groups.
On 30 June or 2 July 2014, the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and United Nations forces launched an offensive against rebel groups in the Masisi and Walikale territories, part of the North Kivu province, in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The Katanga insurgency is an ongoing rebellion by a number of rebel groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, some of which aim for the creation of a separate state within Katanga. While the insurgency has been active in various forms since 1963, insurgent groups have recently redoubled their efforts after the 2011 jail break that freed Gédéon Kyungu Mutanga, who commanded the majority of the Katangese separatist groups until his surrender to Congolese authorities in October 2016.
The National Coalition of the People for the Sovereignty of Congo, and also known as the Alliance of Article 64, is an armed rebel coalition in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The group is a coalition of around 12 different Mai-Mai groups in and around South Kivu province. It was formed on 30 June 2017, symbolically Congolese Independence Day.
William Amuri Yakutumba is the leader of the National Coalition of the People for the Sovereignty of Congo, an anti-government rebel coalition fighting in the Kivu conflict. Yakutumba has been involved in armed mobilization since 1996, fighting for the Mai-Mai before eventually leading his own group. Yakutumba claims to fight for democracy and against the purported invasion of Rwandophone populations in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Kipupu massacre occurred on 16 July 2020 in the South Kivu village of Kipupu in the Mwenga Territory in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Gunmen belonging to the Ngumino and Twiganeho militias of the Banyamulenge community attacked the village and reportedly killed 220 people according to provincial lawmakers, while independent analysts state only 18 people were killed.
The 2017 CNPSC offensive was a military offensive launched by rebels of the National Coalition of the People for the Sovereignty of Congo (CNPSC) on 30 June 2017 against security forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and MONUSCO. The goal of the offensive was to capture major settlements, mainly in South Kivu province in order to raise support for a popular uprising against then-president Joseph Kabila, who the coalition had deemed as an illegitimate president.
Mamadou Mustafa Ndala was a colonel in the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
In late March 2022, the March 23 Movement (M23), supported by Rwanda, launched an offensive in North Kivu against the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) and MONUSCO. The fighting displaced hundreds of thousands of civilians and caused renewed tensions between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda.
Yusufu Eric Mboneza, more commonly called Yusuf Mboneza, is or was a Congolese military officer and rebel. During his career he served in the Rally for Congolese Democracy, the National Congress for the Defence of the People, the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and finally the March 23 Movement.
Lemera is one of the groupements (groupings) within the Bafuliiru Chiefdom, located in the Uvira Territory of the South Kivu Province in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is situated in the northwestern part of the Uvira Territory, approximately 60 kilometers north of Bukavu and 90 kilometers southwest of the border with Rwanda and Burundi. Lemera is in close proximity to several villages, including Kasheke, Nyambasha, Luzira, Lukayo, Kajuju, Lushasha, and Ihusi.
Lulenge constitutes one of the four sectors within the Fizi Territory of South Kivu Province, situated in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Geographically positioned adjacent to the Kiloba and Makena villages at an elevation of 943 meters, the sector's administrative center is Kilembwe. Lulenge is delineated to the north by the Itombwe sector and Mwenga Territory, to the east by Lake Tanganyika and the Mutambala sector, to the south by the N'gangya sector, and to the west by Shabunda Territory.
Kitchanga, also known as Kitshanga, is a town and a camp for Congolese Internally Displaced People (IDPs) strategically positioned between Masisi and Rutshuru territories of the North Kivu Province, with a vantage point overlooking Lake Kivu in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Administratively, the Masisi part of Kitchanga functions as a larger urban center and the capital of the Bashali Chiefdom, while the other part is situated in the Bwito Chiefdom of the Rutshuru Territory. Geographically, Kitchanga is located approximately 90 km northwest of Goma and 10 kilometers north of Burungu, in close proximity to the villages of Kizimba and Budey. As of 2015, the population of Kitchanga was estimated at 18,927 for the Masisi Territory part and 25,157 for the Rutshuru Territory, excluding the populace within the displaced sites of Kahe and Mungote adjacent to Kitchanga in the Masisi Territory.
Between January 24 and 26, 2023, M23 rebels and Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) soldiers fought over the city of Kitshanga. The battle was part of the renewed M23 offensive, and ended on January 26 with M23 forces capturing the city. Civilians accused both M23 and FARDC-aligned militias of war crimes during and after the battle.
The Second battle of Kitshanga broke out between Rwandan-backed M23 fighters and self-defense groups known as Wazalendo allied with the Congolese government. In January 2023, M23 rebels captured Kitshanga from the Congolese Army and allied forces in their renewed offensive in North Kivu. Wazalendo forces captured Kitshanga in early October 2023 as part of a counteroffensive, with the city switching hands between Wazalendo and the M23 after October 16, and a second M23 offensive on October 21 capturing the town.
Democratic Republic of the Congo 
MONUSCO