SUMMARY

The violence in the Uvira highlands of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in 2000 occurred within the broader context of the Second Congo War (1998–2003), a conflict involving multiple armed groups and foreign actors. Ethnic tensions, especially targeting the Banyamulenge, a Congolese Tutsi minority, intensified amid accusations that they were collaborating with Rwandan and Ugandan forces. In this context, a temporary coalition formed between the Congolese Mayi-Mayi, the Burundian CNDD-FDD. These groups shared a common opposition to the Rwandan-backed RCD rebel movement and framed the Banyamulenge as enemies or foreign agents. This alignment resulted in coordinated attacks aimed at ethnically cleansing Banyamulenge populations in the Uvira zone, especially in the mountainous areas of Bijombo chiefdom.

Mayi-Mayi propaganda leaflets at the time claimed that a genocide was being organized by the Banyamulenge against other local communities, which they used as a justification to mobilize local communities against the Banyamulenge. This narrative was reportedly used to legitimize mass violence and spread anti-Tutsi sentiment among civilians. Some Banyamulenge sources interpreted these statements as an incitement to ethnic cleansing, portraying the Mayi-Mayi and their allies as "genocidaires" and accusing them of conducting a campaign of extermination against their community. The main framing of the one-sided violence was that of self-defense against perceived foreign occupation.

The CNDD-FDD, Mayi Mayi coalition’s violence against Banyamulenge civilians was marked by massacres, arson, mutilation, and the systematic destruction of villages. In July 2000, joint attacks by Mayi-Mayi and CNDD-FDD fighters on the villages of Kajembwe, Rubibi, and Gatanga resulted in at least 37 deaths. More than 300 homes were burned, and villages were almost completely destroyed. The CNDD-FDD, Mayi Mayi used terror tactics to drive survivors into flight, contributing to large-scale displacement.

The violence remained localized within the Uvira zone, particularly in the highland chiefdom of Bijombo in Minembwe territory, where Banyamulenge populations were concentrated. Although the conflict was part of the wider regional war involving foreign actors, these particular attacks did not involve cross-border raids and were confined to Congolese territory.