SUMMARY

In the Yumbi territory, western DR Congo, a long-standing history of rivalry between the Nunu and Tende groups resulted in heavy fighting during December 2018. The violence was sparked by the burial of a Nunu leader in Tende territory.

Nunu and Tende have been competing over access to land, power, and other resources. This rivalry goes back for centuries and violence between the communities occurred in 1945, 1963 as well as during the election years of 2006 and 2011. Tende is the majority group in the Yumbi Territory, the group held most of the customary and administrative positions on the local and provincial level. This fueled frustration among the Nunu. The Nunu regularly pushed for the creation of their own administrative entities, led by their own customary leaders, which would give them greater influence, in particular regarding land.

Some reports attributed increased tension to the December elections, with Tende supporting the then ruling coalition and Nunu the opposition. Belgian colonizers allegedly favored the Nunu, while the Tende has been closed to both Kabila Presidents.

The non-state conflict between Nunu and Tende is first included in UCDP data in 2018. In December of that year, clashes between the two groups had resulted in more than 25 battle-related deaths.