Ituri conflict | |||||||
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Part of the Second Congo War | |||||||
Area of conflicts in eastern DRC |
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Belligerents | |||||||
Lendu tribe: Mai-Mai Simba |
Hema tribe: RCD-Kisangani Democratic Republic of the Congo United Nations (MONUC) European Union (Artemis) |
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Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Germain Katanga (FRPI) (POW) Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui (FRPI) (POW) Etienne Lona (FNI) Cobra Matata (FRPI/FPJC) (POW) Mbadu Abirodu (FRPI) Kakado Barnaba Yunga (FRPI) (POW) |
Jérôme Kakwavu (FAPC) James Kazini Fal SiKabw Babacar Gaye |
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Strength | |||||||
1,000 FRPI (2015) | |||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Estimate: c. 60,000 killed (1998-2006) |
Lendu tribe:
Nationalist and Integrationist Front (FNI)
Front for Patriotic Resistance in Ituri (FRPI)
Popular Front for Justice in Congo (FPJC)
Hema tribe:
Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC)
RCD-Kisangani
Armed Forces of the Congolese People (FAPC)
Uganda
The Ituri conflict (French: Guerre d'Ituri) was a major conflict between the agriculturalist Lendu and pastoralist Hema ethnic groups in the Ituri region of the north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). While the two groups had fought since as early as 1972, the name 'Ituri conflict' refers to the period of intense violence between 1999 and 2003. A low level armed conflict continues to the present day.
The conflict was largely set off by the Second Congo War, which had led to increased ethnic consciousness, a large supply of small arms, and the formation of various armed groups. More long term-factors include land disputes, the area's abundant natural resources, and the existing ethnic tensions throughout the region. The Lendu ethnicity was largely represented by the Nationalist and Integrationist Front (FNI) while the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) claimed to be fighting for the Hema.