SUMMARY

The AFDL (Alliance des forces démocratiques pour la libération du Congo, Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo) and the Mayi Mayi forces formed an alliance in the war to oust Zaire’s president and dictator Mobutu. The Mayi Mayi helped Kabila, one of the AFDL’s leader and father of Joseph Kabila, the current president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, overtake power.

Their coalition shattered before the AFDL had succeeded in ousting Mobutu. The Mayi Mayi, who was contracted to fight in the frontlines in Northern Kivu and defend the captured territory seemed not willing to cede captured territory to the AFDL rebels. This caused major tension within the alliance. After Kabila ordered some Mayi Mayi rebels to be disarmed and send to training camps because they misbehaved and killed, raped, and looted from innocent civilians, sporadic incidents of fighting between both rebel groups were observed.

In all these cases, it was the Mayi Mayi warriors who attacked the AFDL soldiers. Yet, they appeared not to be very successful, often not succeeding in killing any AFDL soldiers but suffering casualties in their own ranks.

Most of the fighting between AFDL and the Mayi Mayi has occurred in the North Kivu region, with some attacks also reported to have taken place in Ituri, around Bunia.

The non-state conflict between AFDL and the Mayi Mayi is first included in UCDP data in 1997. In January of that year violent clashes flared up resulting in more than 25 battle-related deaths.