SUMMARY

Repeatedly conflicts have appeared in Sud Kivu province in the DR Congo (Zaire). Many of them have been explained by the question of identity: are Rwandophones, i.e. speakers of Kinyarwanda and Kirundi, legitimate members of the Congolese nation? Between the same communities, conflicts have arisen between agriculturalists and pastoralists, especially during the transhumane period (the seasonal movement of people with their livestock). Livestock has often caused damage to the farmers’ land, thereby conflicts have evolved over the access to and control of land. Similarly local conflicts over the local governance have been intermingled into the mix. At the same time, the different ethnic groups have supported and joined different armed groups and militias in the country supporting different sides in the many conflicts over governmental power that have been ongoing in the country. Similarly different Congolese armed groups have also at times allied themselves with, Rwanda, Burundi or different Rwandan or Burundian rebel groups.

The one-sided violence by AFP-Gutabara, Ngumino coalition should be understood in this context. AFP-Gutabara and Ngumino coalition are militias from the Banyamulenge community perceived as rwandophones and foreigners to the region.

The AFP-Gutabara, Ngumino coalition first became active as a one-sided perpetrator in UCDP data in 2021, when the one-sided violence resulted in at least 25 civilian deaths. The threshold was reached during the night of 14 to 15 November 2021 when AFP-Gutabara, Ngumino fighters killed 27 civilians and burned several houses in Mikenge village in the highlands of the Itombwe sector in Mwenga territory.