SUMMARY
The Ntsiloulous fought the Government of Congo in two bouts of fighting: in 1998-99 and again in 2002. In the context of the intrastate conflict, the Ntsiloulous carried out one-sided violence.
Ntsiloulous' ’ targeting of civilians reflected the ethnic nature of the conflict. Drawing its support from the Laris, a sub-group of the Bacongo ethnic group, the Ntsiloulous' ’ main targets were the ethnic constituents of their opponents, who were all regarded as suspected government infiltrators. The movement had its’ headquarter in Vinza in the northern part of the Pool region. In the area under its control, the group questioned young men among the displaced civilians in the local dialect to ascertain their ethnicity and, if they were unable to answer, killed them. Furthermore, the Ntsiloulous were reported to possess lists of suspected or known government supporters that were their intended victims in the Pool region. Among the victims were non-speakers of the Lari language. Also people, and at times entire villages, suspected of harboring infiltrators were attacked.
Civilians were also killed when the Ntsiloulous attempted to disrupt transports into Brazzaville, the capital, which is located in the Pool region. Deeming transport facilities legitimate targets, the Ntsiloulous carried out numerous attacks on trucks and trains, killing many civilians. In connections to these attacks passengers were also beaten and had their property and goods looted. The group did not limit looting to their attacks on transport facilities, but carried out this practice regularly in the area under its control, oftentimes accompanied by one-sided violence. There were also reports of civilians being killed when the Ntsiloulous began targeting the Pool population for not abiding by their religious rules and for not giving enough support to the war effort.
The Ntsiloulous first became active as a one-sided actor in UCDP data in 1998, when the one-sided violence resulted in at least 25 civilian deaths. The threshold was reached on 18 December that year when the group attacked Brazzaville and temporarily occupied the city’s southern quarters.
