SUMMARY
The non-state conflict between Mayi Mayi and Rassemblement Congolais pour la Démocratie–Mouvement de Libération (RCD-ML) emerged in the northern territories of North Kivu during the Second Congo War. The Mayi-Mayi militias, loosely allied with the government of President Laurent-Désiré Kabila, engaged in sustained hostilities against the RCD-ML, a rebel faction backed by Ugandan forces and opposed to Kinshasa. The conflict was involved {troops from Uganda supporting RCD-ML.
This conflict was rooted in both ideological and local dynamics. The Mayi Mayi opposed foreign military presence, especially Ugandan troops, and rejected the authority of the RCD-ML, which they viewed as a proxy for foreign occupation. The RCD-ML, in turn, accused the Mayi Mayi of acting as irregular Kabila-aligned forces deployed to destabilize RCD-ML controlled zones. Clashes often took place in zones of overlapping political control and contested strategic infrastructure, such as airports and military camps.
The violence intensified in November 1999 when, on 14 November, over 100 Mayi Mayi combatants, many armed with spears, arrows, stones, and rusty firearms, launched coordinated attacks on the Beni airport, Rwenda airport (east of Butembo), and a hotel housing Major Reuben Ikondere of theUgandan forces. The Ugandan officer and several of his bodyguards were killed, their bodies reportedly mutilated. Simultaneously, a separate Mayi Mayi unit attacked Mpigi, south of Butembo, where they suffered heavy losses, by a local home guard unit loyal to the RCD-ML under the command of a militia leader named Mwanisituka. The Beni airport assault was particularly bloody. The clashes prompted the deployment of reinforcements from Beni to Butembo, with Ugandan officers dismissing the Mayi Mayi as “mad attackers” reliant on traditional weapons and magical beliefs, fighters were said to have smeared oil on their bodies while chanting “mayi, mayi, mayi” ("water" in Lingala), invoking spiritual protection in battle.
The violence extended into the year 2000. In late October, a major confrontation took place in the village of Mabalako, west of Beni. A Mayi Mayi column attacked the local military camp while the stationed RCD-ML unit was absent. In retaliation, RCD-ML and Uganda troops looted shops and homes
The conflict was marked by brutal ground assaults, executions, widespread looting, and the targeting of civilians. Mayi Mayi units were often indistinguishable from the civilian population and included women and children. The reprisals by RCD-ML and Ugandan forces involved arbitrary arrests, torture, and forced confessions of collaboration with the Mayi Mayi.
The conflict remained geographically confined to North Kivu, particularly around Beni, Butembo, Mabalako, and surrounding rural areas.
The non-state conflict between Mayi Mayi and RCD-ML is first included in UCDP data in 1999. On 14 November of that year, Mayi Mayi militias simultaneously attacked the Beni airport and a hotel where UPDF officer Major Reuben Ikondere was staying. The attacks resulted in over 25 deaths, including Ikondere, several UPDF soldiers, and more than 100 Mayi Mayi fighters.
