Kanyabayonga

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Kanyabayonga
Grouping
Groupement de Kanyabayonga
Kanyabayonga, Chefferie de Bwito, 2011, Nord-Kivu.jpg
Kanyabayonga, July 2011
Democratic Republic of the Congo adm location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Kanyabayonga
Coordinates: 0°42′07″S29°10′21″E / 0.7020°S 29.1726°E / -0.7020; 29.1726
Country Democratic Republic of Congo
Province North Kivu
Territory Rutshuru
Chiefdom Bwito
Population
 (2004) [1]
 • Total30,000
Time zone UTC+2 (CAT)
Climate Cfb

Kanyabayonga (also Kanya Bayonga, Kanyabayungu) is one of the groupements (groupings) within the Bwito Chiefdom in the Rutshuru Territory of North Kivu Province in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). [2] [3] [4] The region has suffered from continued violence between the army and rival militias since 1993.

Contents

Location

Kanyabayonga lies in mountainous terrain to the west of Lake Edward, in the east of the country. It is on the N2 route from Goma to Butembo. As of 2004 the population was about 30,000. [5]

Civil wars

In 1993 the government's Forces Armées Zaïroises (FAZ) launched "Operation Mbata", a military offensive that resulted in the burning of houses and the central hospital in Kanyabayonga. During the Rwandan Civil War thousands of Rwandan refugees arrived in the region in 1994, fleeing from advancing troops of the Rwandan Patriotic Front. The refugees included Rwandan Armed Forces soldiers and Hutu Interahamwe militias, some of which still occasionally make incursions into Kanyabayonga and surrounding communities, looting, killing and raping. [5]

In the 1996 war led by the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (AFDL) of Laurent-Désiré Kabila, AFDL troops and their allies from Rwanda and Uganda committed many crimes and abuses of human rights in Kanyabayonga. In the Second Congo War initiated by the Rally for Congolese Democracy (RCD) in August 1998, Kanyabayonga suffered further violence and destruction, particularly after the RCD split into two rival groups, the RCD-Goma allied with Rwanda and the RCD-K/ML allied with Uganda. The line between the territories of the two rebel groups was at Rwindi, just south of Kanyabayonga, with Kanyabayonga located in the part controlled by the RCD-K/ML . [5]

In April 2003, the RCD-Goma launched a military offensive against the RCD-K/ML positions, occupying more than two thirds of the Lubero Territory. The advance was halted after signature of an agreement in Bujumbura on 19 June 2003 under which the RCD-Goma had to withdraw to their former territory. However Armée Nationale Congolaise (ANC) troops, the armed forces of the RCD-Goma, continued to occupy Kanyabayonga along with local mostly Hutu militias created and directed by the North Kivu Governor Eugene Serufuli. On 10 and 11 October 2004, hundreds of mostly young students from primary and secondary schools took to the streets of the city of Kanyabayonga to protest against the increase in crimes against civilians by these forces. ANC troops violently broke up the demonstration and instituted a reign of terror. [5]

Ongoing violence

In October and November 2008 there was widespread fighting in North Kivu between the Congolese-Tutsi rebel Congrès National pour la Défense du Peuple (CNDP) and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC), who were supported by local Mayi Mayi militias and the Rwandan-Hutu Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) militia. The CNDP launched attacks south towards Goma and north towards Rutshuru. The FARDC troops retreated south through Goma towards South Kivu and north through Kanyabayonga into Lubero Territory. [6] At least five FARDC brigades poured into Lubero Territory. Many civilians fled into the bush to avoid the troops. [7] During the withdrawal through Kanyabayonga the soldiers shot several civilians, raped at least fifty women and looted houses for food, basic household and agricultural items and mobile telephones. As of September 2009, many of there soldiers remained in the area. [6]

In November 2010 Christian Bakulene, Pastor of the Parish of Saint Jean-Baptiste in Kanyabayonga, was murdered by two armed men in military uniform. The local press speculated that the killing was meant to intimidate other priests working in the area. [8] In May 2011 both the northern and southern areas of the densely populated Lubero territory were under control of the FDLR and Mayi-Mayi militia. The town was undefended and was subject to persistent attacks and looting by these forces. [9] On 9–10 June 2011, FDLR rebels burned over 100 houses in Kanyabayonga. Although there were UN and Congolese army troops in the area, they did not protect the civilians. [10]

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References

  1. ↑ "Report on rapes, summary executions, looting and other human rights abuses committed by RCD-Goma rebel troops and the 'Local Defense' militia in Kanyabayonga in October 2004". CEJA.
  2. ↑ Human Rights Watch/Africa: Volume 8. New York City, New York State, United States: Human Rights Watch. 1996. p. 24.
  3. ↑ "DR Congo: Volcanic eruption in Goma - Situation Report No. 15, as of 08 June 2021 - Democratic Republic of the Congo | ReliefWeb". reliefweb.int. 8 June 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  4. ↑ "Kanyabayonga : plus de 400 finalistes ratent l'examen d'Etat 2023 à la suite de l'insécurité". Radio Okapi (in French). 3 July 2023. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Kanyabayonga saccagée par le RCD-Goma et une milice obéissant au gouverneur Serufuli" (in French). CEJA. November 2004. Archived from the original on 29 April 2009. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
  6. 1 2 "CONSOLIDATED INVESTIGATION REPORT OF THE UNITED NATIONS JOINT HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICE (UNJHRO) FOLLOWING WIDESPREAD LOOTING AND GRAVE VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS BY THE CONGOLESE NATIONAL ARMED FORCES IN GOMA AND KANYABAYONGA IN OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER 2008" (PDF). United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo. 7 September 2009. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
  7. ↑ "RDC: les pillages se poursuivent à Kanyabayonga, Kayina et Kirumba". UMOYA. 28 November 2008. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
  8. ↑ RONAN BARRY (9 November 2010). "Priest in Kanyabayonga, Eastern DRC, killed". Irish Missionary Union. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
  9. ↑ "North Kivu: Frequent rebel attacks in Kanyabayonga". ReliefWeb. 4 May 2011. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
  10. ↑ "100 Houses Burned in Kanyabayonga". Heal Africa. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
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