Kivu conflict

The Kivu conflict is an umbrella term for a series of protracted armed conflicts in the North Kivu and South Kivu provinces in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo which have occurred since the end of the Second Congo War. Including neighboring Ituri province, there are more than 120 different armed groups active in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Currently, some of the most active rebel groups include the Allied Democratic Forces, the Cooperative for the Development of the Congo, the March 23 Movement, and many local Mai Mai militias. In addition to armed groups and the governmental FARDC troops, a number of national, regional and international forces have intervened militarily in the conflict, including the United Nations force known as MONUSCO, the militaries of Uganda and Burundi, and an East African Community regional force.

Conflict began in 2004 in the eastern Congo as an armed conflict between the military of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) and the Hutu Power group Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It has broadly consisted of three phases, the third of which is an ongoing conflict. Prior to March 2009, the main combatant group against the FARDC was the National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP). Following the cessation of hostilities between these two forces, rebel Tutsi forces, formerly under the command of Laurent Nkunda, became the dominant opposition to the government forces.

The United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) has played a large role in the conflict. With 21,000 soldiers in the force, the Kivu conflict constitutes the largest peacekeeping mission currently in operation. In total, 93 peacekeepers have died in the region, with 15 dying in a large-scale attack by the Allied Democratic Forces, in North Kivu in December 2017. The peacekeeping force seeks to prevent escalation of force in the conflict, and minimise human rights abuses like sexual assault and the use of child soldiers in the conflict.

CNDP was sympathetic to the Banyamulenge in Eastern Congo, an ethnic Tutsi group, and to the Tutsi-dominated government of neighboring Rwanda. It was opposed by the FDLR, by the FARDC, and by United Nations forces.

In July 2024, a United Nation Security Council-commissioned report uncovered extensive Rwandan military activities in Nyiragongo, Rutshuru, and Masisi territories. The report revealed that Rwanda conducted 3,000 to 4,000 operations alongside M23 rebels, exerting significant control over them, and by April 2024, Rwandan troop numbers matched or exceeded M23's 3,000 fighters. The report detailed systematic Rwandan Defense Force (RDF) incursions, heavy weapon use, troop transport, and human rights abuses, including child soldier recruitment. Rwandan intelligence officers forcibly conscripted children as young as 12 from refugee camps, deceiving them with false job promises. The report also noted FARDC's ties to armed groups like FDLR-FOCA and Wazalendo militias in the fight against M23. M23 are engaged in a wide range of abuses in the region: recruitment of child soldiers, violence against the civilian population, looting, illegal mining, and corruption.