SUMMARY
The conflict between APCLS and NDC-R was mainly fought in the Nord Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaire). The Nord Kivu province is situated in the eastern parts of the country bordering Rwanda and Uganda. Much of the land in the Nord Kivu province is fertile and it is more densely populated than other parts of the country. The Nord Kivu province is and has for centuries been inhabited by a broad range of different communities: Hunde, Nande, Nyanga, Tembo, Kano, Twa, Pere and Hutu and Tutsi the latter two also known as Banyarwanda. Before colonization these communities were governed differently in different chiefdoms. Under the colonial administration, these chieftaincies were absorbed by the new power. Some areas were re-drawn into new administrative units, sectors, in some cases importing new chiefs. The Belgians also made a distinction between the indigenous/autochthonous tribes of the area, who were entitled to holding land and the foreigners; oftentimes being those of Rwandan descent (Hutu and Tutsi), who were not entitled to holding land. Simultaneously all land belonged to the colonial power and they could expropriate customary land to lease or sell it to plantation-owners.
During the colonial rule, the plantation-owners needed labor on their farms. To meet this demand labor workers were recruited in neighboring Rwanda. In some areas of the Nord Kivu province, this wave of immigration changed the ethnic balance of the area. In total it is believed that between 150 000 and 300 000 Hutu and Tutsi immigrants moved to Nord Kivu during the colonial period. After independence these shifts in balance have been one of the roots of conflicts in the area. While the indigenous communities have kept the customary power and the right over land, the Hutu and Tutsi have been more numerous and therefore a threat to the indigenous/autochthonous power in a democratic system. Different laws regulating citizenship have granted or ripped the Hutu and Tutsi communities of their rights aggravating the situation. Under the Mobutu Zairianisation process, the big plantations were nationalized and then granted to close allies of president Mobutu according to his patronage system of ruling the country. Hutu and Tutsi elite managed to buy land during this period and consequently managed to gain economic power.
In this setting Nord Kivu province has been one of the main battle-scenes of the DR Congo (Zaire): Government, Uganda: Government and Rwanda: Government conflicts. These conflicts continued to form a web of allies and enmities in the region. The conflict between APCLS and NDC-R emerged in this context. APCLS was predominantly Hunde, while the NDC-R consisted mainly of Nyanga fighters.
A new turn of local struggles in the Nord Kivu province started after the Rwandan rebel group FDLR was weakened in 2017 by the government of DR Congo/MONUSCO joint operations against the group, by the splinter group CNRD as well as clashes with the Mai-Mai Mazembe, NDC-R temporary coalition. As FDLR declined in strength NDC-R lost its main opponent in the area. Leading to an NDC-R effort to broaden its zone of influence. From the beginning of January 2018 the group fought APCLS in the border area between the Walikale and Masisi territories. In December 2017 APCLS had been faction the APCLS-R. In late 2018, APCLS-R and NDC-R were close allies fighting an APCLS led a coalition of militias. This alliance evolved into the full integration of APCLS-R into NDC-R in January 2019.
The departure from the Nord Kivu province of the Rwandan rebel group CNRD triggered a renewed power struggle in northern Masisi and western Rutshuru. In mid-January 2019 APCLS and NDC-R fought for control over the Mpati-Kivue area of Masisi. NDC-R controlled large parts of Northern Masisi by the end of March 2019. In December APCLS managed to repel a new advance of the NDC-R. The groups continued to clash in Masisi in the first half of 2020. On the 8th of July 2020 NDC-R splintered and the original NDC-R was forces to withdraw and concentrate their forces in Walikale which ended the clashes with APCLS.
The conflict between APCLS and NDC-R is first included in UCDP data in 2018. In May and July 2018, clashes between the groups around Lukweti and Kalungu in Masisi territory, Nord Kivu province DR Congo caused more than 25 battle-related deaths.
