ConflictBarometer_2016

SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
thorities. Following the arrest, the governor of North Kivu
province, Julien Paluku, reportedly requested his extradition.
On March 15, a military tribunal in Kamina, Haut-Lomami
province, sentenced three soldiers and four M23 members to
prison charges between five and 18 years for raping civilians.
On May 27, a delegation of M23 met with the government
of DR Congo (DRC), Special Representative of the UN's Secretary
General for the Great Lakes Region, Said Djinnit, and
representatives of MONUSCO, AU, Southern Africa Development
Community (SADC) as well as the International Conference
of the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) in Kinshasa to evaluate
the implementation of the Nairobi Agreement. The deal
had been signed by the government and M23 on 12/12/13
to end the fighting. Both parties had agreed on amnesty for
M23 members and the implementation of a demobilization
program without clarifying details. Following the meeting,
former M23 leader Jean Marie Runiga announced the creation
of a political party named ''Alliance pour le salut du peuple”
(ASP) on May 30. Bertrand Bisimwa, current M23 leader,
claimed that M23 had not transformed into a political party
and that ASP was not representing all former M23 fighters.
On June 15, between nine and 27 people were reportedly
killed in clashes between FARDC and inmates of a camp for
demobilized armed groups, in Kamina, Haut-Lomami, where
M23 members and other former militants were detained [→
DR Congo (Mayi-Mayi)]. Following the incident, M23 leader
Bertrand Bisimwa demanded a new demobilization program
for M23 members in the DRC. On June 18, 53 former militia
members were transferred from Kamina to Goma, while
another 2,300 demobilized fighters remained in the camp.
On November 11, the governor of North Kivu province Julien
Paluku tweeted that former M23 commander Sultani Makenga
had disappeared from his whereabouts in a camp for demobilized
fighters in Uganda and suggested Sultani's involvement
with militants seen in the Sarambwe Nature Reserve, North
Kivu, near to the Ugandan border. Two days later, Ugandan
military spokesman Paddy Ankunda denied Sultani's disappearance
and claimed that no former M23 fighters had escaped
demobilisation camps in Western Uganda. vba
DR CONGO (ITURI MILITIAS)
Intensity: 3 | Change: | Start: 1999
Conflict parties:
FRPI vs. government
Conflict items: subnational predominance, resources
The conflict over subnational predominance and resources
such as gold in Ituri Province between the Front for Patriotic
Resistance (FRPI) and the government, supported by
MONUSCO, de-escalated to a violent crisis. In 2002, the conflict
between armed groups belonging to the two rival ethnic
groups Hema and Lendu had escalated in the context of
the Ugandan and Rwandan occupation. Since 2007, after
the main Hema group Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) had
integrated into the Armed Forces of the DR Congo (FARDC),
the predominantly Lendu armed group FRPI directed its fight
against the government. At the end of 2014, disarmament
69
negotiations between the government and the group failed
and FRPI leader Justin Banaloki alias Cobra Matata was arrested.
Subsequently, Mbadu Adirodu succeeded Banaloki as
FRPI leader. This year, FRPI solely operated in Irumu Territory,
Ituri. Apart from FRPI, other armed militias continued to operate
in Ituri [→ DR Congo (Mayi-Mayi et al.); DR Congo (ADF)].
On January 16, Mbadu Adirodu declared the group's willingness
to leave its hideout in order to participate in the
DDR program by the government. Nevertheless, fighting between
FRPI and FARDC, supported by MONUSCO, continued.
Throughout the year, confrontations between both sides left
at least 38 FRPI fighters and five FARDC soldiers dead. For
instance, between February 11 and 16, at least seven FRPI
fighters were killed and another nine captured during FARDC
operations in Arava and Alimo. On April 13, FRPI members
armed with AK-47s killed two FARDC soldiers during an ambush
in Kolu. On June 27, FARDC attacked FRPI positions, aiming
to prevent the reorganisation of the group in Kienge. Ten
FRPI fighters were killed and three AK-47s seized while two
FARDC soldiers were wounded. Due to enduring insecurity in
the region, FARDC and MONUSCO conducted a joint operation
on July 26, deploying MONUSCO combat helicopters around
Kigo and Tchekele. On August 6, FARDC and MONUSCO led
a further operation against the FRPI in the area around Koni,
using combat helicopters and ground forces to stop the ongoing
attacks on civilians. In December, at least 1,200 people
were displaced in Nyankunde due to fighting between FRPI
and FARDC.
Moreover, FARDC reinforced patrols and intervened in at least
35 FRPI attacks on villages this year, killing at least eight FRPI
fighters and capturing four. Nevertheless, frequent FRPI attacks
on villages left at least 26 civilians dead and more than
79 injured. In addition, at least 15,000 people were displaced
and 49 civilians were abducted. On April 5, FRPI fighters killed
two civilians and injured three during a raid in Avenyuma village.
In March and April, around 7,000 people fled the villages
Mambesu, Mungambo, Mandongo, Holu and Tengude
due to FRPI incursions. Between August 29 and 31, around 50
FRPI militants attacked five villages in Irumu Territory, pillaging
household items and raping numerous women. In a largescale
attack between July 10 and 11, about 100 FRPI fighters
raided the village Mandibe, stealing small cattle, household
items, food, and money. While most inhabitants fled to
Komanda, FRPI fighters abducted 17, injured one, and raped
four women. Attacks against civilians continued until the end
of the year. Moreover, FRPI fighters repeatedly set up roadblocks
in order to rob passersby.
Although the prison term of former FRPI leader Germain
Katanga alias Simba ended on January 18, Congolese authorities
refused to release him due to alleged involvement in the
murder of nine UN peacekeepers in 2005. On April 17, the
ICC approved a request by Congolese authorities to persecute
Katanga before a national court. In 2014, the ICC had
sentenced Katanga to 12 years imprisonment. However, after
having served the statutory two-thirds of his sentence in
September last year, the prison term was reduced. On July
12, 248 ex-FRPI members joined the DDR program in Bunia.
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