SUMMARY
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo, formerly Zaire), a state which has experienced persistent state fragility, has been torn by intertwined and complex conflicts on the regional, national and local levels. Rebel factions have both fought the government and each other. They have also targeted civilians and engaged in internecine violence. The vast country is rich in natural resources, a fact that has prolonged some of the conflicts. Since 1989, DR Congo (Zaire) has experienced the intrastate, non-state and one-sided categories of organized violence, as defined by UCDP.
2025
The violence in DR Congo (Zaire) remained at a very high level in 2025, continuing the escalation observed in 2024. Fatality levels across all UCDP categories of organized violence were among the highest recorded in the country since 1997. Trends varied by region and actor, with the eastern provinces of Ituri, North Kivu, and South Kivu remaining the most heavily affected, while insecurity persisted in western areas, including regions near the capital, Kinshasa. The state of siege, announced on 30 April 2021 in Ituri and North Kivu, was renewed throughout the year.
State-based violence remained at high levels on Congolese territory, as the country remained a battleground involving both domestic armed groups and foreign-backed or foreign-origin insurgencies. In the main internal armed conflict, DR Congo (Zaire): Government violence escalated in 2025. AFC expanded its territorial control in the east including in and around the towns of Goma, Bukavu and Uvira. The conflict continued to have a regional dimension and the conflicts between Rwanda and FDLR-FOCA as well as the conflict between Burundi and RED-TABARA were interlinked with the DR Congo – AFC conflict. In addition, the armed group CRP entered the conflict with the Government of DR Congo. The Government of DR Congo and CRP engaged in fighting over villages along the shores of Lake Albert. Uganda and the DR Congo also maintained joint military operations against IS, particularly in Ituri and North Kivu. The conflict involving IS, remained relatively contained compared to earlier years, with the group operating in more remote areas such as Lubero and Mambasa.
One-sided violence against civilians remained at a very high level in 2025, though slightly below the peak observed in 2024. Ituri and North Kivu continued to account for the majority of civilian targeting. IS remained the most active perpetrator of attacks against civilians, particularly in rural and hard-to-reach areas. AFC was also a significant perpetrator and targeted civilians, including individuals perceived to support rival armed groups such as FDLR-FOCA and local militias affiliated with VDP. These groups likewise continued to perpetrate violence against civilians. One-sided violence continued at lower levels in the Djugu territory of Ituri where URDPC and the Zaire self-defense group continued their attacks. In the west, Mobondo targeted civilians in connection with the ethnic violence between Teke and Yaka. One-sided attacks by the Government of DR Congo continued in all of the eastern provinces.
In 2025, fatalities in non-state conflicts increased compared to 2024. In North Kivu, the conflict between AFC and the VDP escalated further. In Ituri, the conflict involving URDPC and the Zaire self-defense group de-escalated. This development coincided with reported alignment between URDPC and government forces, as well as the incorporation of elements of the Zaire self-defense group into CRP.
Constant violence
DR Congo (Zaire) has seen constant violence since 1989 with five peaks in the number of fatalities. The first peak in occurred in 1993 when communal violence pitted Hutu and Banyarwanda communities against Hunde and Nyanga who considered themselves indigenous to the land. As the Cold War ended, President Mobutu lost the US financial support that he had used to buy off the opposition. The country was pressured to start a democratization process and different communal groups prepared themselves by organizing into ethnically based organizations, leading to a deterioration in relations between ethnic groups. In 1993, violence commonly known as the Masisi War occurred, as Hunde and Nyanga targeted Hutu and Banyarwanda in order to chase these groups out of the Masisi and Walikale territories of the North Kivu province.
The next peak, which occurred in 1996, was the By far the largest during the whole time-period. In 1996, an armed rebellion led by AFDL and supported by Rwanda, Uganda and Angola, broke out. At the same time, AFDL supported by Rwanda, massacred Hutu refugees seen as genociders by the Rwandan regime. The massacres led to over 30 000 civilian deaths, while the real instigators of the Rwandan genocide fled deeper into the country. The conflict started in the eastern part of the country but as more and more towns were captured, the violence moved westwards. AFDL managed to take the capital Kinshasa and topple President Mobutu in May 1997. However, the new regime was soon at war again, this time against RCD and MLC. This war, known as Africa's First World War, had more than seven different African countries involved in the fighting. After years of negotiations, the parties concluded a final peace agreement in 2003, and in 2006, the first democratic elections in more than 40 years were held.
In 2002, violence peaked in the Uganda-controlled Ituri province in the northeastern part of DR Congo (Zaire). The original conflict in the region, between the ethnic groups Hema and Lendu, first escalated in 1999, but was further fueled when it coincided with a leadership conflict in RCD-ML, a Uganda supported faction of RCD. In 2001 RCD-ML splintered and two new groups were created: RCD-K-ML, which supported the Lendu community, and UPC, supporting the Hema community. These groups attracted shifting support from Uganda, Rwanda and the DR Congo. In 2002, Uganda supported the UPC, but its allegiance shifted at several occasions and most of the groups involved in the Ituri conflict were at some point armed, trained or supported by Uganda. Rwanda, who at the time was an enemy of Uganda, also started to support the UPC as a means to retain influence in the region. With UPC aligned to Rwanda, Uganda instead shifted its support to the Lendu militias in 2003. The Lendu militias and RCD-K-ML was also to some extent supported by the Government of DR Congo.
In 2009, the country faced a new escalation of violence, this time rooted in the ending of the conflict between the Government of DR Congo and CNDP, which had been supported by Rwanda. This conflict ended in an agreement on 23 March 2009. The agreement provided for the integration of CNDP but also other armed groups from the Kivu regions into the armed forces of DR Congo (Zaire). DR Congo (Zaire) also promised to fight the Rwandan Hutu rebel group FDLR-FOCA, which was based on Congolese territory, as part of a separate deal with Rwanda. In 2009, the newly integrated groups fought FDLR together with Rwanda. All parties targeted civilians during the war with FDLR-FOCA.
A new peak in the number of fatalities was registered in 2017. A number of smaller militias had merged into larger alliances and challenged the rule of then-President Joseph Kabila who had remained in office beyond his constitutionally-mandated term that ended in 2016. CMC appeared in North Kivu and CNPSC in South Kivu. M23 also reappeared in North Kivu after being dormant for four years. Simultaneously, in Kasaï in the central part of the country, the Kamuina Nsapu rebellion emerged after the government refused to recognize the appointment of Jean-Pierre Mpandi as local chief over Bajila Kasanja, citing his anti-government views. Following Mpandi's death, the conflict escalated in the region, with government forces accused of committing massacres of civilians during operations against Kamuina Nsapu. After elections in 2018, Joseph Kabila stepped down in January 2019, and Felix Tshisekedi was inaugurated as the fifth President of the DR Congo (Zaire), marking the first peaceful democratic transition of power since independence in 1960.
In 2022 the violence in DR Congo escalated again as Uganda and DR Congo launched joint operations against IS. At the same time M23 made significant territorial gains in North Kivu. The conflict in DR Congo (Zaire) intensified again in 2025 reaching one of the highest levels of organized violence since 1997. The new escalation was driven largely by the AFC alliance, which included M23, and continued IS violence. In 2025 AFC expanded both its territorial control and operational capacity in the eastern provinces and was involved in all UCDP categories of organized violence including the non-state conflict between AFC and the VDP, operations by Burundi against RED-Tabara (allied to AFC) and Rwanda (also secondary warring party in support of AFC in the conflict with the goverment) vs. FDLR-FOCA. IS also continued to perpetrate widespread one-sided violence, particularly targeting civilians in rural and hard-to-reach areas, thereby sustaining high levels of one-sided violence.
Pre-1989 conflicts
UCDP has also recorded three state-based conflicts in DR Congo (Zaire) before 1989, one over government power and two over territory. Straight after independence, two of the country’s provinces, Katanga and South Kasai, declared themselves sovereign, and intrastate conflicts followed, ending in 1962 when UN peacekeeping forces managed to regain control over the territories.
When the parliament in Congo was dissolved in 1963, the foundation for a new conflict was laid. In 1964–1965, the CNL more commonly known as the Simbas, launched a rebellion in the eastern parts of the country, fighting to remove the government. In September 1964, the rebellion controlled almost half the country and proclaimed a revolutionary government in Stanleyville. In January–June 1965, the rebels lost almost all territory they previously held. In 1967, militias again tried to overthrow the government from bases inside Rwanda.
In March 1977, yet another phase in the conflict over government commenced, when the FLNC launched a military campaign from Angola with the objective of toppling the regime of President Mobutu. The rebel group managed to take control over some territory in Shaba (Katanga); after asking for outside support FLNC was, however, pushed back into Angola. The insurgency recurred in 1978. At that point, the USA airlifted French and Belgian forces into then-Zaire with the purported mission to protect the white population, but these troops effectively forced the FLNC out of the country.
