This article needs to be updated.(June 2022) |
Alliance of Patriots for a Free and Sovereign Congo Alliance des patriotes pour un Congo libre et souverain(in French) | |
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Leader | Janvier Buingo Karairi |
Dates of operation | 2006–present |
Active regions | North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Ideology | Anti-Tutsi |
Size | 1,500 men (claimed) |
The Alliance of Patriots for a Free and Sovereign Congo (French : Alliance des patriotes pour un Congo libre et souverain, known by the acronym APCLS) is an armed militia group which operates in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. [1] APCLS is traditionally active in Masisi Territory, North Kivu and is considered one of the largest mai-mai (local or ethnic militia) groups operating in the province. Formed in 2006, the APCLS draws most of its support from the Hunde ethnic group. Its ideology is founded on opposition to the Tutsi ethnic groups who are believed to threaten the integrity of the Congolese state and to be supported, in particular, by Rwanda. [2] The APCLS is a belligerent in the ongoing Kivu conflict and is led by Janvier Buingo Karairi, known as General Janvier.
The APCLS was formed as part of the Resisting Congolese Patriots (Patriotes Résistants Congolais, or PARECO) group in 2006 and was originally known as PARECO-Hunde. The group split from PARECO in 2008 after the Goma Accords. [2] The militia counts around 1,500 men and is funded by the profits from artisanal mining of gold and cassiterite, as well through the support of wealthy members of the Hunde ethnic group. [2] In the past, the group has co-operated with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda, FDLR), a Hutu Interahamwe rebel group from neighbouring Rwanda. [2]
During the M23 rebellion (2012-13), the APCLS co-operated with Congolese government forces to suppress the largely-Tutsi March 23 Movement. Sporadic fighting between government forces, backed by the United Nations MONUSCO peacekeeping mission, and APCLS continued for several years. In March 2015, government forces launched a major offensive against the APCLS in Masisi Territory. [3] In August 2016, the APCLS, together with another militia, the Mai-Mai Nyatura, a Hutu group active in the same region, announced that they would sign a peace agreement with the central government. [4]
By January 2023, the APCLS was fighting alongside the Congolese government forces against the M23 Movement's revived offensive in North Kivu. [5]
Discovered in the 1990s, human remains in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have been dated to approximately 90,000 years ago. The first real states, such as the Kongo, the Lunda, the Luba and Kuba, appeared south of the equatorial forest on the savannah from the 14th century onwards.
The term Mai-Mai or Mayi-Mayi refers to any kind of community-based militia group active in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that is formed to defend local communities and territory against other armed groups. Most were formed to resist the invasion of Rwandan forces and Rwanda-affiliated Congolese rebel groups, but some may have formed to exploit the war to their own advantage by looting, cattle rustling or banditry.
Goma is the capital of North Kivu province in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is located on the northern shore of Lake Kivu, next to the Rwandan city of Gisenyi. The lake and the two cities are in the Albertine Rift, the western branch of the East African Rift system. Goma lies only 13–18 km (8.1–11.2 mi) south of the active Nyiragongo Volcano. The recent history of Goma has been dominated by the volcano and the Rwandan genocide of 1994, which in turn fuelled the First and Second Congo Wars. The aftermath of these events was still having effects on the city and its surroundings in 2010. The city was captured by rebels of the March 23 Movement during the M23 rebellion in late 2012, but it has since been retaken by government forces.
Banyamulenge, also referred to as nyamurenge and banyamurenge is the name that they adopted in the 80’s describes a Tutsi community in the southern part of Kivu. The Banyamulenge of South Kivu are culturally and socially distinct from the Tutsi of North Kivu. Most Banyamulenge speak Kinyamulenge, a mix of Kinyarwanda (official language of Rwanda, Kirundi with specific phonological and morphological features found in the two. Banyamulenge are often discriminated in DRC due to their Tutsis morphology similar to the horn African people.
The Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire was a coalition of Rwandan, Ugandan, Burundian, and Congolese dissidents, disgruntled minority groups, and nations that toppled Mobutu Sese Seko and brought Laurent-Désiré Kabila to power in the First Congo War. Although the group was successful in overthrowing Mobutu, the alliance fell apart after Kabila did not agree to be dictated by his foreign backers, Rwanda and Uganda, which marked the beginning of the Second Congo War in 1998.
The First Congo War (1996–1997), also nicknamed Africa's First World War, was a civil war and international military conflict which took place mostly in Zaire, with major spillovers into Sudan and Uganda. The conflict culminated in a foreign invasion that replaced Zairean president Mobutu Sese Seko with the rebel leader Laurent-Désiré Kabila. Kabila's uneasy government subsequently came into conflict with his allies, setting the stage for the Second Congo War in 1998–2003.
Eugène Serufuli Ngayabaseka is a Congolese politician, the ex 2nd Vice President of the Congolese Rally for Democracy-Goma and was the governor of Nord-Kivu province from July 31, 2000 until 2007, when was succeeded by the RCD-K-ML candidate, Paluku Kahongya Julien.
Congolese history in the 2000s has primarily revolved around the Second Congo War (1998–2003) and the empowerment of a transitional government.
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The National Congress for the Defence of the People is a political armed militia established by Laurent Nkunda in the Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in December 2006. The CNDP was engaged in the Kivu conflict, an armed conflict against the military of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In January 2009, the CNDP split and Nkunda was arrested by the Rwanda government. The remaining CNDP splinter faction, led by Bosco Ntaganda, was planned to be integrated into the national army.
Laurent Nkunda is a former General in the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and is the former warlord operating in the province of Nord-Kivu, sympathetic to Congolese Tutsis and the Tutsi-dominated government of neighbouring Rwanda. Nkunda, who is himself a Congolese Tutsi, commanded the former DRC troops of the 81st and 83rd Brigades of the DRC Army. He speaks English, French, Swahili, Kinyarwanda, Lingala and Kinande. On January 22, 2009, he was put under house arrest in Gisenyi when he was called for a meeting to plan a joint operation between the Congolese and Rwandan militaries.
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