October 2020 Ituri offensive

Last updated
October 2020 Ituri offensive
Part of Ituri conflict
DateOctober 24-28, 2020
Location
Dele, Ezekere, Walendu Tatsi, and the Blue Mountains, Ituri Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Result

Congolese victory

  • Sporadic CODECO-ALC attacks in November 2020
Belligerents
Flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.svg Democratic Republic of the Congo
Flag of the United Nations.svg MONUSCO 		CODECO-ALC
Commanders and leaders
Unknown Justin Maki Gesi "Mountain Wolf"   †
Casualties and losses
7-9 soldiers killed
Several soldiers injured		 33 killed

On October 24, 2020, militants from CODECO-ALC attacked Congolese and MONUSCO forces in the town of Dele, Ituri Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. In response, Congolese forces launched an offensive against CODECO-ALC, capturing several towns from the group and killing its leader Mountain Wolf.

Contents

Background

In 2020, CODECO had begun peace talks with the Congolese government and MONUSCO into laying down their arms in Ituri Province. These talks culminated in a ceasefire in August 2020 by CODECO. [1] The first faction of CODECO to sign the peace agreement was CODECO - Alliance for the Liberation of the Congo (CODECO-ALC), headquartered in Walendu Tatsi and Ezekere, near Bunia. [2] [3] CODECO-ALC was led by Justin Maki Gesi, known as Mountain Wolf. [3]

A few months after signing the agreement, CODECO-ALC broke off from the ceasefire agreement, and began preparing for attacks in and around Bunia. [2] The first incursion was by 200 fighters into Bunia, demanding the release of inmates from the prison. [2] CODECO-ALC then began a campaign against the Congolese government and MONUSCO around the city. [2]

Offensive

On October 24, 2020, MONUSCO peacekeepers patrolling the town of Dele, outside of Bunia, caught CODECO-ALC militants burning down civilian houses in the town. A firefight broke out between the two groups, and the peacekeepers managed to dislodge CODECO-ALC from the town, and called for backup. [3] That same day, clashes broke out between CODECO-ALC and Congolese soldiers in the towns of Kijogo and Fichama. Congolese soldiers repelled CODECO-ALC in these attacks, but residents reported that at least two Congolese soldiers were wounded in the attacks. [4] [5]

Congolese forces then went on the offensive against CODECO-ALC in the Blue Mountains over the following days. Heavy fighting occurred in Ezekere, and Congolese soldiers pushed CODECO-ALC out of Djokodjo, Kambutso, and Mbetshi as well. [6] At least thirty-three militants were killed in the offensive, and two to four Congolese troops were killed. [7] [8] On October 26, Congolese soldiers pushed CODECO-ALC out of Walendu Tatsi. [9] In the Congolese offensive, Mountain Wolf was killed. [8]

On November 3, CODECO-ALC launched an attack on Ezekere that killed five Congolese soldiers. [10] However, Congolese forces retained control of the base that was attacked, and continued operations against CODECO in the area. [11]

Related Research Articles

The earliest known human settlements in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo have been dated back to the Middle Stone Age, 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MONUSCO</span> UN peacekeeping force in Democratic Republic of the Congo

The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or MONUSCO, an acronym based on its French name Mission de l'Organisation des Nations Unies pour la stabilisation en République démocratique du Congo, is a United Nations peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) which was established by the United Nations Security Council in resolutions 1279 (1999) and 1291 (2000) to monitor the peace process of the Second Congo War, though much of its focus subsequently turned to the Ituri conflict, the Kivu conflict and the Dongo conflict. The mission was known as the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo or MONUC, an acronym of its French name Mission de l'Organisation des Nations Unies en République démocratique du Congo, until 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allied Democratic Forces</span> Ugandan rebel group

The Allied Democratic Forces is an Islamist rebel group in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), considered a terrorist organisation by the Ugandan government. It was originally based in western Uganda but has expanded into the neighbouring DRC. Most Ugandan ADF fighters are Muslims from the Baganda and Basoga ethnic groups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ituri conflict</span> Subconflict of the Second Congo War

The Ituri conflict 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. Armed conflict continues to the present day.

Congolese history in the 2000s has primarily revolved around the Second Congo War (1998–2003) and the empowerment of a transitional government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kivu conflict</span> Conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

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.

The assault on Bogoro, which occurred on February 24, 2003, was an attack on the village of Bogoro in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) by the Nationalist and Integrationist Front (FNI) and the Front for Patriotic Resistance of Ituri (FRPI). The attackers allegedly went on an "indiscriminate killing spree", killing at least 200 civilians, imprisoning survivors in a room filled with corpses, and sexually enslaving women and girls. Two rebel leaders, Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui, have been charged by the International Criminal Court with war crimes and crimes against humanity over their alleged role in planning the attack.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Force Intervention Brigade</span> Military unit

The United Nations Force Intervention Brigade (FIB) is a military formation which constitutes part of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). It was authorized by the United Nations Security Council on 28 March 2013 through Resolution 2098. Although it is not the first instance in which the use of force was authorized by the UN, the Force Intervention Brigade is the first UN peacekeeping operation specifically tasked to carry out targeted offensive operations to "neutralize and disarm" groups considered a threat to state authority and civilian security. In this case, the main target was the M23 militia group, as well as other Congolese and foreign rebel groups. While such operations do not require the support of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC), the Force Intervention Brigade often acts in unison with the FARDC to disarm rebel groups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allied Democratic Forces insurgency</span> Islamist insurgency in the DR Congo and Uganda

The Allied Democratic Forces insurgency is an ongoing conflict waged by the Allied Democratic Forces in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, against the governments of those two countries and the MONUSCO. The insurgency began in 1996, intensifying in 2013, resulting in hundreds of deaths. The ADF is known to currently control a number of hidden camps which are home to about 2,000 people; in these camps, the ADF operates as a proto-state with "an internal security service, a prison, health clinics, and an orphanage" as well as schools for boys and girls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katanga insurgency</span> Ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

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 Popular Front for Justice in the Congo is an armed group operating in the south of Ituri Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where it has participated in the Ituri conflict. It formed in September 2008 from a splintering of the Front for Patriotic Resistance in Ituri (FRPI) and coalescing of other armed actors, including combatants from the Nationalist and Integrationist Front, who had resisted national disarmament campaigns. The group has expressed opposition to a 2006 attempt to resolve the Ituri conflict, which granted amnesty to former participants in the conflict. In 2011, the group was estimated to have no more than 100 members. Whereas the FRPI was closely linked to the Ngiti ethnolinguistic group, the FPJC incorporated members of more varied ethnic backgrounds.

The 2020 Democratic Republic of the Congo attacks were a series of attacks which took place in 2020. The attacks were mostly carried out by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a radical Islamist rebel group and the Cooperative for the Development of Congo (CODECO), an agricultural and religious group made up of ethnic Lendu people. The attacks left at least 1,316 people dead and 132 injured.

Md. Muhsin Alam, ndc, psc, is a Brigadier General in the Bangladesh Army. He was the principal of BKSP in 2012 and served there for two years. He also served as Colonel GS and Deputy Director General of DGFI. Brigadier General Md. Muhsin Alam, ndc, psc, commanded two infantry battalions of the Bangladesh Army. He also served as the Brigade Commander of an Infantry Brigade. The Brigadier was the pioneer Brigade Commander of the only Para Commando Brigade of the Bangladesh Army. In 2019, on behalf of, the Para Commando Brigade, Brigadier General Muhsin received the raising flag from the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina. This entitles him to be a flag officer. He served at DRC as the Northern Sector Commander of MONUSCO.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CODECO</span>

CODECO is a loose association of various Lendu militia groups operating within the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The name is an abbreviation of the group's lesser-known full name, the Cooperative for Development of the Congo, sometimes also styled the Congo Economic Development Cooperative.

Events in the year 2021 in the Republic of the Congo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Djugu territory</span> Territory of Ituri province

Djugu territory is a district of Ituri, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its capital is also named Djugu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M23 offensive (2022–present)</span> Conflict in the DR Congo

In late March 2022, the March 23 Movement (M23) launched an offensive in North Kivu, clashing with 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, as the latter was proved of supporting the rebel offensive.

Events of the year 2022 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

On January 19, 2023, the United Nations investigators discovered the bodies of forty-two civilians in the village of Nyamamba, Ituri Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and seven bodies in the village of Mbogi, in the same province. The victims were killed over the weekend by suspected CODECO between January 14 and 15.

On the night between May 16 and 17, 2020, militants from the Lendu CODECO killed twenty-two civilians in the Hema village of Ndjala, in Ituri Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

References

  1. ↑ "Militia in Eastern DRC agrees to stop attacks". The East African. 2020-08-24. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Letter dated 23 December 2020 from the Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo addressed to the President of the Security Council" (PDF). ReliefWeb. United Nations Security Council. 23 December 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-01-09.
  3. 1 2 3 "FARDC and MONUSCO have deterred CODECO rebel incursion into Bunia". MONUSCO. 2020-10-28. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
  4. ↑ "DRC: Government troops clash with CODECO rebels near Bunia (Ituri province) October 24". DRC: Government troops clash with CODECO rebels near Bunia (Ituri province) October 24 | Crisis24. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
  5. ↑ "Incident Summary for GTDID: 202010240020". www.start.umd.edu. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
  6. ↑ "DRC: Government troops clash with CODECO militants around Blue Mountains (Ituri province) October 24-26". DRC: Government troops clash with CODECO militants around Blue Mountains (Ituri province) October 24-26 | Crisis24. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
  7. ↑ "DRC: Government troops clash with CODECO militants around Blue Mountains (Ituri province) October 24-26". DRC: Government troops clash with CODECO militants around Blue Mountains (Ituri province) October 24-26 | Crisis24. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
  8. 1 2 Kambale, Erikas Mwisi (October 28, 2020). "Congo army says it killed 33 militiaman in days of intense fighting". Reuters. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
  9. ↑ "DRC: Government troops clash with CODECO rebels in Walendu Tatsi (Iutri province) October 26 /update 1". DRC: Government troops clash with CODECO rebels in Walendu Tatsi (Iutri province) October 26 /update 1 | Crisis24. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
  10. ↑ "DRC: CODECO attack kills five soldiers in Ituri province November 3". DRC: CODECO attack kills five soldiers in Ituri province November 3 | Crisis24. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
  11. ↑ Lay, Timothy (2020-11-11). "Regional Overview: Africa1-7 November 2020". ACLED. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
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