SUMMARY
The conflict between Banyarwanda and Hunde, Nyanga 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, Hutu, and Tutsi, with the latter two collectively referred to as Banyarwanda. Before colonization these communities were governed differently in different chiefdoms. And under the colonial administration these chieftaincies were absorbed by the new power and in some cases re-drawn into Sectors and 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. At the same time 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 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 context we should see the conflict between Banyarwanda and Hutu, Nyanga. Banyarwanda, Hutu and Tutsi that has moved to Nord Kivu are the outsiders, Hunde and Nyanga are seen as the natives. The relations between the communities in Nord Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo worsened fast after the country's independence from Belgium in 1960. Pre-independence tensions between the Banyarwanda and the Hunde, Nyanga already existed, since the Banyarwanda had access to land, whereas the Hunde had to give up their land to the Belgians, which in turn gave the land to the Hutu. Yet, the Hunde and Nyanga were politically always supreme to the Banyarwanda.
This division between land and power continued after independence. The Hunde and Nyanga used the fact that the Banyarwanda did not participate in the regional, provincial and national elections after independence to rise to the top positions in the administrations in Goma and Leopoldville. This meant that the Hunde and Nyanga now had political supremacy over the Banyarwanda population of Nord Kivu. They used this control to subvert the political rising of Banyarwanda and increased the imposition of tributes (cows, chickens, goats, and farm products).
Under Mobutu's dictatorship, the Hunde and Nyanga kept their authoritative position over the Banyarwanda. Mobutu's regime favored customary authorities, which was beneficial for the Hunde and Nyanga. The Hunde and Nyanga started imposing illegal and extremely high taxes on peasants houses and equipment. At points, they evicted Hutus from their houses and land, resulting in an occasional minor outbreak of violence.
Relations further deteriorated when Mobutu decided to have country-wide hearings in 1990, which led to open and major outbursts of critique against his regime. In April 1990 Mobutu recognized the failure of his regime and opened up the country towards multiparty democracy. This had huge effects on the always present tensions between the Hunde, Nyanga and Banyarwanda in Nord Kivu. The Hunde, Nyanga who feared losing their power-status aimed at excluding the Banyarwanda from any national debate of forum, while the Banyarwanda feared to remain subordinate to the Hunde and Nyanga. The Banyarwanda population started to openly resist the Hunde and Nyanga authorities, which led to open conflict in certain groupements. In 1993, the conflict intensified when the Hunde, together with the Nyanga aimed to chase the Banyarwanda out from Walikale and Masisi territories. This violence spread soon all over the region. The conflict known as the Masisi war was ended in November 1993 after Mobutu had moved his Presidential guard into the area to stop the fighting. The conflict between these communities has reignited over and over with groups popping up in new constellations, with new leaders.
The non-state conflict between the Banyarwanda and the Hunde, Nyanga is first included in UCDP data in 1993. In late April of that year armed confrontations between the two groups had resulted in more than 25 battle-related deaths.
