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.
The Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the state organisation responsible for defending the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The FARDC was rebuilt patchily as part of the peace process which followed the end of the Second Congo War in July 2003.
Bukavu is a city in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), lying at the extreme south-western edge of Lake Kivu, west of Cyangugu in Rwanda, and separated from it by the outlet of the Ruzizi River. It is the capital of the South Kivu Province and as of 2012 it had an estimated population of 806,940.
Goma is the capital and largest city of the North Kivu Province in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It is located on the northern shore of Lake Kivu, next to the Rwandan city of Gisenyi. It shares its borders with Bukumu Chiefdom to the north, Rwanda to the east, Masisi Territory to the west, and is flanked by Lake Kivu to the south. The city lies in the Albertine Rift, the western branch of the East African Rift System, and is only 13–18 km (8.1–11.2 mi) south of the active Nyiragongo Volcano. With an approximate area of 75.72 square kilometers, the city has an estimated population of nearly 2 million people according to the 2022 census, while the 1984 estimate placed the number at 80,000.
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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 Congolese Rally for Democracy, also known as the Rally for Congolese Democracy, is a political party and a former rebel group that operated in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It was supported by the government of Rwanda, and was a major armed faction in the Second Congo War (1998-2003). It became a social liberal political party in 2003.
Army General Gabriel Amisi Kumba was Chief of Staff of the Forces Terrestres, the army of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Amisi was a former Forces armees Zairoises (FAZ) officer who was recruited into the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (AFDL) in 1996. During the Second Congo War, Amisi was assistant chief of staff for logistics of the Rally for Congolese Democracy (RCD-G). This position was the origin of his nickname, as T-4 was the abbreviation for his position. He was implicated by Human Rights Watch in the execution of soldier Joe Lona Bifuko and in the torture of prisoners in the ANC military intelligence detention centre in Goma in 2001.
The M23 rebellion was an armed conflict in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), that occurred between the March 23 Movement and government forces between 4 April 2012 and 7 November 2013. It ended when a peace agreement was made among eleven African nations, and the M23 troops surrendered in Uganda. The rebellion was part of continued fighting in the region after the formal end of the Second Congo War in 2003. The conflict reignited in late 2021 after rebel "general" Sultani Makenga and 100 rebel fighters attacked the border town of Bunagana but failed. A few months later, with a much larger force, the rebels of the M23 movement renewed their attack and captured Bunagana.
The March 23 Movement, often abbreviated as M23 and also known as the Congolese Revolutionary Army, is a Congolese rebel military group that is for the most part formed of Rwandans. 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.
Minova is a town in the Kalehe Territory, Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is an important business center for farm-fishery products. It is very close to Idjwi Island, Masisi Territory, Lake Kivu on its North Western shore and is only 45 km from the Goma city. The town's development is linked with important refugee-related history, including those from Rwanda in 1994, those from Masisi in 1992–1997, and other surrounding areas in northern South Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is known for being the site of the systematic rape of refugees by DRC troops. WE actually find many local organisations involved in the management of Gender Based Violence (GBV) working tirelessly to restore dignity to women and girls who were raped( Panzi Foundation DRC is one of them, and it is very active in Buzi -Bulenga area).
Major General Jean-Lucien Bahuma Ambamba (1957–2014) was a Congolese army officer. Bahuma, described as an "exceptional soldier" by Le Potentiel and one of the Congo's "most popular and reform-minded officers" by The Economist, commanded the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) in the provinces of North and South Kivu during the M23 rebellion and Allied Democratic Forces insurgency.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Kisangani, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
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) 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.
In 2022, heavy tensions broke out between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda, which have led to several alleged attacks by Congolese and Rwandan forces on each other's territory. Rwandan forces have been caught crossing into the DRC multiple times, usually fighting alongside Congolese rebels.
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.
The Bashali Chiefdom is a chiefdom located in the Masisi Territory of North Kivu Province in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Topographically, it is bounded to the east by the Virunga National Park, to the north by the Bwito Chiefdom of Rutshuru Territory, to the northwest by Walikale Territory, to the south by the Bahunde Chiefdom, and to the west by the Osso sector. Encompassing a total area of 1,582 square kilometers, the chiefdom is the administrative and sociopolitical structure for the Hunde ethnic group and is administratively subdivided into two groupements: Bashali-Mokoto and Bashali-Kaembe. Kitchanga, the urban center and administrative capital of the Bashali-Mokoto groupement, is the most densely populated locality within the chiefdom.
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