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MASISI TERRITORY, A NEW EPICENTER OF VIOLENCE
MONTHLY REPORT N°28
In February 2020, armed actors
killed 57 civilians in Masisi territory.
This is a record for this territory
since the Kivu Security Tracker
(KST) started tracking such data.
This number even surpasses that
of Beni territory for the same
period, something unprecedented
since September 2019.
The explosion of violence against civilians that has impacted Masisi territory in February is
linked to the escalation of the war between the Nduma Defense of Congo-Rénové (NDC-R)
and several rival militia such as the Nyatura and the People’s Alliance for a Free and
Sovereign Congo (APCLS). This conflict, which usually also affects Walikale, Lubero and
Rutshuru territories, has focused on Masisi territory. Also, the recent integration of militia
members, including the Nyatura living with their families within the ranks of the NDC-R,
appears to have made these civilians more exposed to the fighting. The DRC army (FARDC)
remained largely passive during such clashes: it was only involved in one incident.
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Number of civilians killed as recorded by KST in Beni and Masisi territories since June 2017
During the same time period, the number of civilians killed in Beni territory fell slightly,
partly due to the massacres committed by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) moving to
the neighboring province of Ituri. Additionally, the FARDC seem to have changed strategy
in the face of the ADF, by forging alliances with local armed groups and by redeploying part
of their forces in the northwest of the territory, which was particularly impacted by the
previous month’s massacres.
Violence also continued in the highlands of Fizi, Mwenga, and Uvira, with 21 killings in these
three territories – a very small decrease compared with January (26). This number remains
considerably high.
However, following record levels of violence in January 2020 (210 deaths), the number of
violent civilian deaths has dropped overall in the Kivus: armed actors killed at least 153
civilians in February. This remains significantly higher than the average of 88 deaths per
month recorded by KST since tracking started in June 2017.
Beni: Relative Decline in Violence
The number of civilians killed fell considerably in Beni territory with 39 victims, compared to
94 the previous month.
However, part of that decrease in numbers is misleading as some of the massacres took
place close to Beni territory in the neighboring province of Ituri, outside the area covered by
KST. According to local media, the ADF killed over 50 civilians in this territory between
mid-January and the end of February (in French).
Moreover, in Beni, the level of violence remains significantly higher than the average
recorded prior to November 2019, which was 24 civilians killed per month. The vast majority
of massacres are still attributed to the ADF, who are alleged to have killed 33 out of 39
victims.
However, several other theories may explain this relative decline in numbers. The
redeployment of part of the FARDC (in particular the 2102nd Battalion) to Mangina in the
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northwest of the territory seems to have prevented some massacres. It is in this area that
most of the killings were logged in the previous month.
Also, in their fight against the ADF, the FARDC supported several armed groups present in
the area by supplying arms and food, including the Mai-Mai Uhuru and the Union des
patriotes pour la libération du Congo (UPLC). Two sources from these groups confirmed this
to KST, which was able to verify the existence of new equipment normally used by the
FARDC in one of their bases during a visit. On February 6, the Mai-Mai Uhuru attacked the
ADF in Muloya, in the northwest of the territory.
Butembo - Lubero: Health Facilities Targeted
Following a particularly calm month of January in Butembo (no violence against civilians
were recorded by KST in January), insecurity once again impacted the town with 8 incidents
causing the deaths of nine people, including two civilians.
Health facilities were specifically targeted when they were attacked on three occasions, each
time with the aim of appropriating resources, by looting and kidnapping. The perpetrators
remain unidentified. The insecurity of health workers, which had increased dramatically
during the response to the Ebola virus (in French), has therefore remained unchanged
despite the decreasing epidemic.
Violence, on the other hand, fell somewhat in Lubero territory: the number of incidents
recorded dropped from 16 to 9. This could partly be explained by an increase in the number
of surrenders among armed groups present in the territory (particularly from the Mai-Mai
Kabido, Mazembe and NDC-R), as seen in Kirumba.
Rutshuru: the NDC-R Pulls Back
The intensity of conflicts decreased substantially in Rutshuru territory with 33 incidents,
compared with 48 the previous month. The number of civilian deaths in particular fell
sharply, from 53 to ten.
Part of the reason for this is that the NDC-R, a major actor in the conflicts and perpetrator of
many abuses against civilians in January, withdrew from some of its positions, apparently to
focus on Masisi territory (see below). It abandoned its positions in Gashavu, Mashango,
Kinjugu, Mimba, Mutanda, Shonyi, Kavumu, Kinyamugezi, Kibwe, Muko, Kazuba, Karambi,
Kyahemba, Bukumba, Rubeha, Buhambira, and Kanyangohe.
On the other hand, the Congolese army’s lack of discipline continued. After ambushing an
army vehicle transporting soldiers’ wages to Rwaza, on February 20, causing seven FARDC
deaths and leading to the loss of 100,000 USD, members of the 3416th Regiment killed four
civilians and looted homes in indiscriminate retaliation (see “Who’s Stealing the FARDC’s
money?”). FARDC soldiers also committed a kidnapping on February 8 in the village of
Ruvumu.
Masisi: a Devastating Month for Civilians
The month of February was extraordinarily deadly for civilians in Masisi territory; 57 people
were killed by armed actors, which is three times the number for January 2020.
This is due to an escalation of the conflict between the NDC-R and its main rivals in Masisi,
namely the APCLS, often in collaboration with the Nyatura militia, including the Alliance des
patriotes pour la restauration de la démocratie au Congo (APRDC). The APRDC attempted
to take back NDC-R positions. The latter is seen as an invading armed group (it hails from
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the neighboring territory of Walikale). The NDC-R’s leader, Guidon Shimiray, notably spent
most of the month of February in Masisi territory to deal with these attacks. These offensives
were ultimately unsuccessful, but the fighting was extremely costly in terms of civilian lives.
Many of the victims were executed after being accused by the various warring parties of
collaborating with the enemy.
Others were collateral victims of the clashes, as was the case of the death of 14 civilians on
February 3 during an attack by the Nyatura Jean-Marie against an NDC-R position in Kitso.
Most of the civilians killed were family members of NDC-R fighters.
This type of phenomenon appears to have been fostered by NDC-R’s new recruitment
policy that began in recent months. Several militias, mostly Nyatura, have been integrated
into Guidon Shimiray’s group without leaving their villages. During the attack on their
positions, their families (who remained with them), paid a particularly high price.
Walikale: Abductions and Local Protests
Walikale town saw significant tensions following the abduction of Obedi Kamala, the
territorial coordinator of the Bureau of Studies and Support for the Development of the
Territory of Walikale (Bedewa), on February 15. This organization is very close to the
provincial opposition politician, Prince Kihangi, who is the co-founder and former general
secretary of Bedewa.
Before his abduction, Obedi had accused the territorial administrator, Joseph Sukisa
Ndayambaje, of threatening him. His disappearance therefore caused tensions to run high
and a wave of mistrust in local authorities among the population. Several houses belonging
to Sukisa were set on fire.
Obedi was finally released on February 18. He was unable to identify his captors.
Bukavu: Criminality on the Rise
Insecurity considerably worsened in the provincial capital of South Kivu, where six civilians
were killed in February, compared with one the previous month. All the victims were killed
by unidentified actors. This insecurity specifically impacted the working-class neighborhoods
of Nkafu and Ndendere.
Violence reached its height at the end of the month. On February 26, four women from the
Bafuliru community were abducted by the Gumino when they were on their way to the
market in the village of Bialere, near Minembwe. Two days later, four civilians from the
Banyamulenge community were killed in the neighboring village of Kalongi, during a
Mai-Mai Ebu Ela Mtetezi incursion. On the same day, two women and two girls from the
Banyindu and Bafuliru communities were killed near the Bijombo Internally Displaced
Persons camp where they lived. A survivor named the Gumino group as the perpetrator of
this massacre. Lastly, on February 29, two cowherds from the Banyamulenge community
were killed while trying to protect their cattle in Kahwela, near Minembwe.
According to several local civil society sources, a hundred or so Banyamulenge youth are
reported to have returned from Kenya and Uganda via Burundi to strengthen the militia
forces from their community. Some of them claim that they were trained by Burundian
armed forces.
Also, the creation of a new coalition, called the Union des congolais pour la libération (UCL),
combining the Mai-Mai Kidjangala, Buhirwa, and Mwenyemali groups as well as Rwandan
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rebels, was announced on February 6. One of the groups (the Mai-Mai Buhirwa) kidnapped
an official employed by the Italian NGO, AVSI, on February 23.
This incident, as well as the kidnapping of three officials employed by the NGO MSF
Holland, are a reminder that insecurity remains at a critical level for humanitarian workers in
the area, even if all these NGO workers were eventually released. Furthermore, kidnappings
continued unabated in the Ruzizi Plain with five such cases.
However, the FARDC rarely intervened in conflicts in the south of South Kivu. The
Congolese army was only involved in one incident (when one of its bases was attacked).
Website:
https://kivusecurity.org/
Twitter: @kivusecurity
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/KivuTracker/
Email:
info@kivusecurity.org
The Kivu Security Tracker (KST) is a joint project of the Congo Research Group, based at
New York University’s Center on International Cooperation, and Human Rights Watch.
Human Rights Watch provides training and other support to KST researchers but does not
independently verify all incidents reported on the KST and does not necessarily support all
the views expressed by the KST.
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