ConflictBarometer_2015

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
signed by both parties on 12/12/13, the government and
M23 agreed on an amnesty and a demobilization program for
its fighters without clarifying the terms and details of those
processes.
Throughout the year, the former rebels and the government
continued to quarrel over the terms of the agreement and its
implementation. On February 2, Rwanda and the DR Congo
agreed on a plan for the repatriation of the remaining ex-
M23 fighters on Rwandan territory to the DR Congo. Former
M23 leader Jean Marie Runiga demanded on April 21 that no
ex-M23 member should be sent back from Rwanda to the DR
Congo before terms for the repatriation were set. On April 25,
he further threatened that ex-M23 could easily regroup. Five
days later, the government granted amnesty to 375 former
M23 fighters. While the amnesty included acts of war, it did
not include crimes against humanity and war crimes.
On June 20 and 21, ex-M23 fighters and other demobilized
fighters mutinied at the demobilization camp in Kota Koli,
Equateur province, in the context of a deteriorating food
situation in the camp. The ex-fighters looted a nearby town
and committed acts of sexual violence.
On September 2, a trial against former M23 leader Bosco
Ntanganda started at the International Criminal Court in
The Hague, Netherlands, where he was charged with crimes
against humanity and war crimes allegedly committed between
2002 and 2003. In early November, ex-M23 political
leader Bertrand Bisimwa addressed the International Conference
on the Great Lakes Region expressing concerns about a
possible failure of the Nairobi Agreement.
jhe
DR CONGO (ITURI MILITIAS)
Intensity: 4 | Change: | Start: 1999
Conflict parties:
Conflict items:
FRPI vs. government
subnational predominance,
sources
The limited war over subnational predominance and resources
in Ituri district, Orientale province, between the
Front for Patriotic Resistance of Ituri (FRPI) and the government,
supported by MONUSCO, continued. Violence between
armed groups belonging to the two rival ethnic groups Hema
and Lendu had started in 2002 in the context of Ugandan and
Rwandan occupation. In 2007, the main Hema group Union of
Congolese Patriots (UPC) integrated into the Armed Forces of
the DR Congo (FARDC). Since then, the predominantly Lendu
armed group FRPI directed its fight against the government.
Comprising between 400 and 600 fighters, FRPI only operated
in Irumu territory. The group permanently controlled
several gold mining sites and frequently pillaged diggers.
Between November 2014 and January 2015, the militants
and the government negotiated over an amnesty for all FRPI
fighters, the integration into FARDC with retention of ranks
for officers, and the provision of food and logistical support
by FARDC. After negotiations had failed, FARDC arrested FRPI
leader Justin Banaloki alias Cobra Matata for war crimes including
crimes against humanity on January 2. Subsequently,
FRPI appointed Adirodu Mbadhu their new leader. On January
15, a FRPI attack against military bases in Avebawas countered
by FARDC and MONUSCO. A total of 22 militants and
seven soldiers were killed, while one peacekeeper and six
soldiers were wounded. In March, the military and MONUSCO
captured 34 rebels.
Between May 23 and June 3, FRPI and the government again
held negotiations in Aveba, with the aim of the group's integration
into FARDC. According to the UN, the 505 FRPI
members present at the venue comprised around 180 armed
fighters and five ''leading officers''. After talks had ended
without results on June 3, FARDC and MONUSCO launched
operations against the group which continued until the end
of the year. Both sides employed heavy weapons. While
the rebels used rocket launchers, the UN force supported
the army with MI-24 attack helicopters. For instance, on July
11, two MONUSCO helicopters destroyed a FRPI base near
Aveba. On October 6, FARDC troops killed ''Major'' Abdul,
naval officer of FRPI. MONUSCO reported that at least 49
FRPI fighters and four soldiers were killed between June and
December. Additionally, 153 militants surrendered or were
arrested. Throughout the year, FRPI frequently raided villages,
engaging in sexual violence against civilians and pillaging of
livestock and other goods.
The group also turned against local chiefs to retaliate supposed
collaboration with FARDC. On February 4, FRPI militants
attacked the villages of Kyiereta and Bikima, injuring two men,
raping one woman, and stealing approx. 300 heads of cattle.
The next day, FRPI fighters kidnapped several Hema girls and
stole cattle in Mitifo village. On April 8, 40 militants armed
with AK-47 and rocket launchers injured several people when
they raided Kakado village, looting around 100 houses. Many
villagers fled. On November 26, a mining site south of Bunia
town was attacked by FRPI. The militants pillaged large quantities
of gold and domestic goods. On December 3, around
15 alleged FRPI militants attacked Kaya village, killing one
civilian and injuring two.
On December 18, the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The
Hague, Netherlands, transferred former FRPI leader Germain
Katanga and former UPC leader Thomas Lubanga to a prison
in the capital Kinshasa. In 2014, the ICC had sentenced
Katanga to twelve years of imprisonment on counts of crimes
against humanity connected to the killing of at least 200
people in Irumu in February 2003. In 2012, Lubanga had
been sentenced to 14 years in prison for his role in the Ituri
conflict between 2002 and 2003. jli, soq
DR CONGO (MAYI-MAYI ET AL.)
Intensity: 4 | Change: | Start: 2003
Conflict parties:
Conflict items:
re-
Mayi-Mayi groups vs. Nyatura groups
vs. Raia Mutomboki groups vs. APCLS
vs. FDLR vs. government
subnational predominance, re-
sources
The conflict over subnational predominance and resources
between local and foreign armed groups and between local
armed groups and the government, supported by MONUSCO,
continued as a limited war. Most of the local militias were
either labelled ''Mayi-Mayi'' or ''Raia Mutomboki'' (RM) and
originally claimed to protect a population against perceived
foreigners, most notably the Democratic Forces for the Liberation
of Rwanda (FDLR) [→ DR Congo, Rwanda (FDLR)]. The
militias ranged from larger groups to smaller localized units
and were usually named after their commanders. In 2015,
they continued to operate in the eastern provinces of North
and South Kivu, Orientale, Maniema, and Katanga. The groups
repeatedly clashed with the Armed Forces of the DR Congo
(FARDC) and other militias, but also targeted civilians. At least
72