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116-715: The contentious political and social position of the Banyamulenge has been a point of controversy in the country, having played a key role in tensions against the Simba Rebellion of 1963–1965, First Congo War of 1996–1997, Second Congo War of 1998–2003, and Joseph Kabila 's regime of 2001–2019. The wars in the DRC have affected more than 10 million lives most of which are congolese who are not bayamulenge , with casualties continuing in Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, and Tanganyika provinces. In

232-524: A 1,500-man ANC force fled leaving behind weapons and vehicles which the Simba rebels captured. The attack consisted of a charge, led by shamans, with forty Simba warriors. No shots were fired by the Simba rebels. Following the conquest of Stanleyville, the rebels proclaimed a "People's Republic of the Congo" ( République populaire du Congo ) while portraying the existing Congolese government as Western puppet regime. As

348-449: A South Kivutian minister of parliament, began an initiative to reclassify the Banyamulenge of Mwenga, Fizi, and Uvira into a single administrative entity. Muhazo's attempt failed, but the term he introduced remained. Over decades, it became used as a catchall label for the Rwandan who live in the eastern parts. . While the Banyamulenge were brought in the 18th century from Rwanda, Burundi and

464-460: A bid for independence in the previous conflict. In addition the force was accompanied by Jerry Puren and a score of mercenary pilots flying Second World War surplus training planes fitted with machine guns. The combined force marched on Kasai Province and encountered Simba forces near Luluabourg . The engagement began in a shallow, long valley with Simba forces attacking in an irregular mixture of infantry and motorized forces, which charged directly at

580-753: A major impact on the First and Second Congo War . The decision to aid the Simbas divided the Ugandan government, as it strained relations with the Congolese government and with the United States. It also created differences between the Ugandan national government and the sub-national Bugandan government. A Ugandan Member of Parliament later accused Colonel Amin of taking advantage of the situation to embezzle funds allocated for aid to Gbenye and smuggling gold, coffee, and ivory from

696-526: A movement protesting against violence towards Banyamulenge was created using social media. International broadcasting channels reported on several demonstrations in the United States and Canada. Despite all this violence, Banyamulenge have resorted to peaceful strategies to resolve these problems. On 6 January, the Banyamulenge community endorsed a judicial inquiry/mission to investigate and bring to justice those responsible for crimes committed in Minembwe. In 2020,

812-462: A multi-pronged campaign. ANC troops led by mercenary columns would advance from the west, southwest, southeast (Albertville) and east (Bukavu). The mercenaries were well equipped for the campaign, and given access to jeeps, trucks, mortars and armoured fighting vehicles . In addition, the ANC was provided with foreign advisors, including about 200 Cuban CIA agents who operated on the ground and also flew for

928-509: A new cycle of regional political and military disagreements which have led to new ethnic clashes, and involved foreign armed groups. In late 2019, due to rising ethnic tensions in South Kivu, several high-ranking national political and military leaders journeyed to Minembwe as an attempt to appease ethnic tensions in the region. In the diaspora, especially in North America and European Union,

1044-495: A public outcry in Uganda whose government promptly expanded the military to defend its borders. There were also reports about Ugandan troops crossing the border in a raid targeting Mahagi and Bunia in retaliation for the Congolese air attacks. From March to June 1965, ANC contingents and mercenaries under Hoare and Jacques Noel organized Operations " White Giant " and " Violettes Imperiales ", military offensives aimed at retaking

1160-642: A resolution stating that all Banyamulenge were recent refugees (regardless of how long they had lived in the Congo) and providing a list of Banyamulenge who would be expelled from the country. Between March and May 1996, the remaining Tutsi in Masisi and Rutshuru were identified and expelled into refugee camps in Gisenyi . The Bahunde, forced out by the Hutu, also took refuge there. The situation in South Kivu took longer to develop. Once

1276-508: A revolution in his native province of Kwilu in 1963. Mulele proved to be a capable leader and scored a number of early successes, although these would remain localised to Kwilu. With the country again seeming to be in open rebellion of the government in Kinshasa, the CNL launched its rebellion in their political heartland of eastern Congo. To the extent that the [Simba] movement had an ideology, it

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1392-479: A temporary stalemate. Meanwhile, their international supporters continued to arm and train the rebels, although Burundi expelled local Chinese experts who had possibly aided the insurgency around early February. In January 1965 Ugandan Prime Minister Milton Obote arranged for Gbenye to meet with him, Kenyan President Jomo Kenyatta , and Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere in Mbale . Gbenye gained their sympathies, and it

1508-513: Is largely held by other tribes in South Kivu who have always maintained that they are more Rwandan than they are Congolese. It remains a question of interest as to how they will be treated by the Félix Tshisekedi regime, as they have, in one way or the other, been fairly treated and protected under the leadership of Joseph Kabila. Congolese identify themselves based on their territories. For example, Bembe or Lega tribe identify themselves based on

1624-673: The Albertville airport . The next day ANC infantry and the motorized Gendarmes re-captured the city, overwhelming poorly armed Simba resistance. Together with the success in Kasai the victory at Albertville stabilized the government southern flank. The abuse of the clergy also increased Western support for the Tshombe Government. The rebels started taking hostages from the local white population in areas under their control. Several hundred hostages were taken to Stanleyville and placed under guard in

1740-674: The Burundi Civil War began streaming into primarily South Kivu. They were followed the next year by almost one million mostly Hutu refugees from the Rwandan genocide , creating the Great Lakes refugee crisis . The Hutu government responsible for the genocide came with the refugees; they turned the camps into armed bases from which they could launch attacks against the newly victorious RPF government in Rwanda. The influx of refugees dramatically changed

1856-702: The DRC Mapping Exercise Report by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights , the success of the invasion led to revenge killings by the Tutsi Banyarwanda against their opponents. Perhaps six thousand Hutu were purged in the week following the AFDL capture of the town. It was worse in South Kivu, as Banyamulenge settled local scores and RPF soldiers appeared to conflate

1972-554: The Kwilu rebellion spread and escalated, Soumialot obtained the support of the government of Burundi in recruiting thousands of troops along the Burundian-Congolese border. With these forces, he invaded South Kivu in late 1963. After taking control of most of the province, Soumialot's army overran the last local government holdouts at Uvira on 15 May 1964, followed by Fizi shortly after. Pro-Simba forces successfully revolted in

2088-527: The M23 Rebel Movement . The majority of Banyamulenge opposed Rwanda support of the rebellious M23 led by Tutsi from the North Kivu province. Although many Banyamulenge residing in Rwanda as refugees or Rwandan citizens benefitted from the government of Rwanda. Some of them even occupy government posts and others can be found in lucrative private sectors while others seek residence as refugees and benefit from

2204-761: The Orientale revolt , was a regional uprising which took place in the Democratic Republic of the Congo between 1963 and 1965 in the wider context of the Congo Crisis and the Cold War . The rebellion, located in the east of the country, was led by the followers of Patrice Lumumba , who had been ousted from power in 1960 by Joseph Kasa-Vubu and Joseph-Désiré Mobutu and subsequently killed in January 1961 in Katanga . The rebellion

2320-541: The Uganda Army 's 1st Battalion directly clashed along the border of the two countries at some point in 1964. Other countries which sent covert military support through weapons shipments and training included Egypt under Gamal Abdel Nasser , and Algeria under Ahmed Ben Bella . China also provided limited aid to the rebels, with Chinese experts based in the Congo, Burundi, and Tanzania suspected of training Simba insurgents. By August 1964, they had captured Stanleyville where

2436-547: The United Kingdom , Ireland , Spain , and Angola arrived in Katanga Province over the next month. The largely white mercenaries provided the ANC with a highly trained and experienced force that was unaffected by the indiscipline and social tensions within the ANC. They provided an expertise that could not be matched. Ironically, their presence also strengthened the recruitment efforts of the Simba rebels who could portray

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2552-550: The génocidaires with the Hutu with the "indigenous" Congolese. One intellectual in Bukavu who was otherwise sympathetic to the Banyamulenge claim to citizenship stated: The Banyamulenge conquered their rights by arms but the rift between them and the local population has grown. The attitude of the Tutsi soldiers—during and after the war has made them more detested by the population due to the killings, torture. For example, they will go into

2668-402: The "Social Revolution" led by Hutu Grégoire Kayibanda . While the early migrants lived primarily as pastoralists in the high plains, colonial labour migrants moved to urban areas. Refugees were placed in refugee camps . In 1924, the pastoralists received permission from colonial authorities to occupy a high plateau further south. The groups received further immigrants during the overthrowing of

2784-524: The 1977 legislative elections. Once accomplished, they passed the 1981 Citizenship Bill , stating that only people who could prove descent from someone resident in Congo in 1885 would qualify for citizenship. From the perspective of the so-called "indigenous ethnicities", such as the Babembe, Bafuliro , the name "Banyamulenge" was a claim to indigeneity in Mulenge. However, the bill proved difficult to implement by

2900-527: The 1994 refugees arrived, local authorities began appropriating Banyamulenge-owned property in the valley with the support of Mbembe. Threatened by both the armed Hutus to the north and a Congolese army appropriating property and land, the Banyamulenge of South Kivu sought cross-border training and supply of arms from the RPF. As threats proliferated, each Native Authority formed its own militia. Finally, in November 1996,

3016-460: The ANC as a Western puppet. Once the mercenaries were concentrated they spearheaded a combined offensive against Albertville. Once captured, Albertville would give the ANC access to Lake Tanganyika and serve as a staging base for future offensives to relieve Government enclaves in the North. Simba forces were deployed in several large mobs around Albertville in expectation for an attack by ANC infantry and

3132-507: The ANC force. In response, the ANC troops also advanced directly, led by jeeps and trucks. The Simba rebels encountered heavy losses because of ANC machine-gun fire. It was a decisive defeat and the Simba rebels were forced to abandon their attacks in Kasai. Success in Kasai justified Tshombe's decision to bring in Western mercenaries to augment well-trained Katangese formations. Two hundred mercenaries from France , South Africa , West Germany ,

3248-565: The ANC garrison of Bendera. The operation (which was opposed by Che Guevara) failed completely, with the Rwandans being particularly poorly motivated and fleeing upon the first sign of combat. However, the Cubans continued their training and the performance of the rebels began to improve, resulting in a series of well-organized ambushes against ANC targets. However, these successes came at a significant cost. One Rwandan rebel leader told Che Guevara that he

3364-661: The American Dr. Paul Carlson and the Belgian Dox brothers . While the Belgians were securing Stanleyville, the ANC's columns "Lima I" and "Lima II" broke through the Simba defenses and arrived at Stanleyville on the same day. On 26 November, a second mission ( Dragon Noir ) was flown by the Belgians and captured Isiro . The Belgians withdrew most of their forces from the Congo after the successful conclusion of Dragon Rouge and Dragon Noir . The fall of Stanleyville and Isiro "broke

3480-449: The Bahunde and ordinary Hutu. The DSP appeared to be protecting the rights of the "non-indigenous" (primarily Hutu) against the "indigenous" (primarily Bahunde), sparking outrage and increasing the scope of the conflict. One estimate is that between 10,000 and 20,000 people were killed; another 200,000 people were forced to flee their homes. In late 1993, about 50,000 Burundian refugees from

3596-526: The Banyarwanda who had arrived as refugees from 1959 to 1963. However, some leaders, such as Chief of Staff Barthélémy Bisengimana , were concerned that this change was an alarming sign of the growing influence of the Banyarwanda in the administration. In reaction to the apparently growing influence of the Banyamulenge, the majority ethnicities, particularly the Nande and Hunde of North Kivu, focused on dominating

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3712-818: The Burundian Forces for the Defense of Democracy , and the Rwandan Hutu Armée de Libération du Rwanda (ALiR). They were unable to carry out basic economic activities without the security provided through the RCD-Goma. Numerous families fled to the relative safety of the Burundian capital of Bujumbura . Nevertheless, Banyamulenge made up much of the RCD military wing, the Armée Nationale Congolaise (ANC), and controlled

3828-476: The Congo and other African countries. The Ugandan government, which felt that the newly installed Tshombe government was beholden to Western interests, promptly offered covert aid to Gbenye. This included the use of government forces to train the rebels as well as the allowance for Ugandan territory to be used as a resupply route. Some Ugandan troops served alongside the rebels in combat, and the Congolese ANC and

3944-506: The Congo in 1971. Soumialot was probably killed by his own troops while waging an insurgency in the Fizi-Baraka area of the Congo in the late 1960s. Notable Simba holdouts were located in the western Virunga Mountains (these forces eventually became the Parti de Libération Congolais) and in South Kivu (Kabila's People's Revolution Party). The Rwandan exiles no longer played a significant role in

4060-412: The Congo joined the Simba rebellion because they hoped that a Simba-led government would support their own efforts in Rwanda. Rwandan exiles held prominent positions within the rebel hierarchy, with Inyenzi leaders Louis Bidalira and Jerome Katarebe serving as chief of staff and chef de cabinet respectively. The Rwandan exiles held a reputation as good and disciplined fighters among the insurgents. As

4176-521: The Congo, triggering the Gold Scandal . Several ex-Simba rebels were eventually enlisted in the Uganda Army after Idi Amin seized power in Uganda in 1971. Thousands of Simba rebels fled to Burundi. Many of them joined with Hutu militants in a revolt against President Michel Micombero in 1972. The emigration of about 500 ex-Simbas to Cuba after the rebellion, as well as the subsequent intermarriage between ethnic Cubans and ex-Simbas, resulted in

4292-525: The Congolese Air Force. The ground forces which were coming from the west and attacking Bas-Uele were also supported by armoured trains . While these ground offensives were going on, an international task force was prepared for airborne attacks on the urban centers of the rebels. Though the initial ground attacks met with some success, the Simbas still managed to offer significant resistance, and even retook some areas amid counter-attacks soon after

4408-575: The Congolese government expelled the Soviet embassy's personnel from the country in July 1964; the Soviet leadership responded by increasing its aid for the Simbas. Meanwhile, the Simbas continued to advance. By late July 1964, the insurgents controlled about half of the Congo. Utterly demoralized by repeated defeats, many ANC soldiers believed that the Simba rebels had become invincible thanks to magical rituals performed by insurgent shamans. Amid these rebel successes,

4524-482: The Congolese government launched a number of major counter-offensives from late 1964, spearheaded by battle-hardened mercenaries and backed by Western powers , the rebels suffered several major defeats and disintegrated. By November 1965, the Simba rebellion was effectively defeated, though holdouts of the rebels continued their insurgency until the 1990s. The causes of the Simba Rebellion should be viewed as part of

4640-430: The Congolese government turned to Belgium and the United States for help. The Belgian Army sent a task force to Léopoldville , airlifted by the U.S. 322d Airlift Division . The Belgian and American governments tried to come up with a rescue plan. Several ideas were considered and discarded, while attempts at negotiating with the Simba force failed. The Congolese government and its Western allies finally decided to launch

4756-401: The Congolese government used aircraft to transport mercenaries to hotspots or rebel strongholds. Mercenary forces became adept at outflanking and then reducing Simba positions with enfilade fire . Though war was turning in favor of the ANC, problems remained for the Congolese government. Most notably, the rebels still held numerous hostages and important towns in eastern Congo. In response,

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4872-469: The Congolese insurgents became more strained. The Simba rebels also alienated the Banyamulenge who lived in South Kivu during this time, as the retreating insurgents killed the Banyamulenge's cows for food. Even though they were related to ethnic Rwandans, the Banyamulenge had previously tried to remain neutral and now opted to side with the Congolese government. They organized militias and began to hunt for

4988-587: The Génocidaires (those who carried out mass killings during and after the 1994 Rwandan Genocide, in which close to a million Rwandans, primarily Tutsis, were murdered by their Hutu neighbors.) in response to the RPF's supplying arms to the Banyamulenge. The two Mai-Mai groups most active against the Banyamulenge were the Babembe and Balega militias. The various Banyamulenge militias and the Rwandan government forces became separate because of disagreements over motives of

5104-601: The High Plateau of South Kivu , in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo , close to the Burundi -Congo- Rwanda border. The term translates literally as "people of Mulenge ", a groupement on the Itombwe plateau . The name was chosen in the early 1970s to avoid being called "Banyarwanda" and seen as foreigners in what was then Zaire . In 1976, the word "Banyamulenge" first came into wide usage after Gisaro Muhazo ,

5220-574: The Hutu. The one thousand returned to Masisi, where the Hutu landlords, and Banyarwanda in general, supported the claim of Banyarwanda to "indigenous" rights. The government sent in the Division Spéciale Présidentielle (DSP) and Guard Civile to restore order. Ill-supplied, the security forces were forced to live off the local population: the DSP off the rich Hutu and the Guard Civile off

5336-603: The Karagwa area of Tanzania, it is a recorded that and historical data shows Banyamulenge came to the area in the 18th century and were of use to the Belgian king. Rwandan historians give two reasons for their migration: the migrants were composed of Tutsi trying to avoid the increasingly high taxes imposed by Mwami Rwabugiri of the Kingdom of Rwanda . Secondly, the group was fleeing the violent war of succession that erupted in 1895 after

5452-974: The Lumumbist government that had been intended. Gizenga was arrested and imprisoned on Bula-Mbemba and many of the Lumumbists went into exile. It was in exile that the rebellion began to take shape. On 3 October 1963, the Conseil National de Libération (CNL) was founded by Gbenye and Soumialot in Brazzaville , capital of the neighbouring Republic of the Congo . The CNL was backed by pro-Lumumba leaders as well as "emerging local warlords" based in Orientale Province as well as Kivu in eastern Congo. However, whilst these plans for rebellion were being developed in exile, Pierre Mulele returned from his training in China to launch

5568-516: The RPF-backed Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (AFDL), which the Banyamulenge militias joined, crossed the border and dismantled the camps, before continuing on to Kinshasa and overthrowing Mobutu. The ranks of the AFDL were composed in large part by Banyamulenge, who filled most of the administrative positions in South Kivu after the fall of Bukavu. As documented in

5684-443: The RPF. The overall effect of the CNS was to strengthen the tendency of "indigenous" Congolese to differentiate Tutsi from Hutu, and lump together all Tutsi Banyarwanda as "Banyamulenge". It also underlined the fragility of their political position to the Banyamulenge. Within the Banyarwanda in the Kivus, the Hutu began defining themselves as "indigenous" in comparison to the Tutsis, who were increasingly seen as owing their allegiance to

5800-417: The Ruzizi plain, where a few became chiefs among the Barundi through gifts of cattle. Still others went to work in the Bukavu , the provincial capital, or Uvira , a town experiencing a gold rush economic boom. These urban dwellers could make a fair living selling meat and milk from their herds to the gold diggers, though the group lacked the political connections to Kinshasa and the large educated class which

5916-535: The Simba forces due to the gradual end of other foreign support. The "Rwanadese Popular Movement" and the "Rwanda Youth National Union" led by Jean Kayitare, son of Rwandan exile leader François Rukeba , each mobilized a battalion to assist the beleaguered Simbas. One Rwandan exile later explained that their continued support for the Simba rebels was mostly motivated by the fact that they were being expelled from other countries such as Burundi, making this "the only choice we had". Despite this, their working relationship with

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6032-465: The Simba holdouts. Some exiled Simbas resumed their insurgency in the 1980s or 1990s. Notable examples include the Front for the Liberation of Congo – Patrice Lumumba (FLC-L) and André Kisase Ngandu 's forces. Some of the Simba holdouts continued to be active until the First Congo War in 1996/97 when Kabila became President of the Congo. Ex-Simbas played a major role in Kabila's government until his murder in 2001. The Banyamulenge's involvement in

6148-467: The Simba rebellion as " Lumumbist ". The rebellion was backed by the MNC-L party. In addition to native Congolese, the Simba rebels included Rwandan exiles. Known as "Inyenzi" in Rwanda, these exiles had repeatedly attempted to retake their home country without success, most prominently during the Bugesera invasion of December 1963. Frustrated that Congolese authorities hampered their activities and radicalised by their repeated failures, Inyenzi based in

6264-454: The Simba rebellion had been crushed, rebel remnants continued to be active. Weak and no real threat to the Congolese government, they waged a low-level guerrilla war from bases in remote frontier regions. Of the rebel leadership, Kabila and Soumialot continued to support the remaining insurgents from their exile in Tanzania. In contrast, Gbenye and Olenga initially became businessmen in Sudan and Uganda. They made peace with Mobutu and returned to

6380-428: The Simbas declined. This resulted from growing conflicts within and among the socialist states, most notably the 1965 Algerian coup d'état and the Sino-Soviet split . Furthermore, the Maoist leadership of the Simbas disagreed with the Cubans over ideology, resulting in tensions that undermined any military cooperation. In contrast, the Rwandan exiles continued to back the Simba rebels, and became even more important to

6496-440: The Simbas were young men and teens although children were not unheard of in the conflict. The rebels were led by Gaston Soumialot and Gbenye, who had been members of Gizenga's Parti Solidaire Africain (PSA), and Laurent-Désiré Kabila , who had been a member of the Lumumba aligned Association générale des Baluba du Katanga (BALUBAKAT). Because of the range of political beliefs amongst the Simba rebels, attributing an ideology to

6612-484: The Soviet Union and China as they positioned themselves as being "socialists" opposed to American intervention in the Congo and involvement in the death of Lumumba although, as with Lumumba, there is some dispute over the true political inclinations of the Lumumbists. However, in August 1961, Gizenga dissolved the government in Stanleyville with the intention of taking part in the United Nations sponsored talks at Lovanium University . These talks ultimately did not deliver

6728-399: The Soviet-Sudanese supply convoys and captured the weapons for themselves. When the CIA learned of these attacks, it allied with the Anyanya. The Anyanya consequently helped the Western/Congolese air forces to locate Simba rebel camps and supply routes, and destroy them. In return, the Sudanese rebels were given weapons for their own war. Angered by the Soviet support for the insurgents,

6844-485: The Tutsi appear to have attempted to distance themselves from their ethnicity as Rwandans and lay claim to a territorial identity as residents of Mulenge. As they moved, they continued this practice. Some Tutsi Banyarwanda in South Kivu call themselves the Banya- tulambo and Banya- minembwe , after the places they were located. After 1971, such practices became increasingly controversial. The 1971 Citizenship Decree by President Mobutu Sese Seko granted citizenship to

6960-472: The US government resettlement program to relocate to the United States (which has a flourishing Banyamulenge diaspora). In DRC, the Banyamulenge have been part of the elite community in politics and the military while benefiting from Kabila himself, even though hated by some members of his inner circle. This has led to increased tensions with local communities all over the country who argue they receive government preferential treatment they do not deserve. This view

7076-445: The United States government pressured President Kasa-Vubu to dismiss Prime Minister Cyrille Adoula , and install a new government led by Moïse Tshombe . The U.S. and Belgian leadership believed that Tshombe was supportive of their interests as well as a more effective leader, thereby being the ideal person to lead the Congo in the conflict against the Simba rebels. With few options left, Kasa-Vubu agreed and Tshombe returned from exile as

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7192-428: The United States launched a military intervention on 24 November 1964. As aid from the Soviet Union was received by the Simba military establishment, the Simba force made one final push against the government capital of Leopoldville. The advance made some headway but was stopped cold when several hundred mercenaries were airlifted North and attacked the flank of the Simba pincer. The mercenaries were then able to capture

7308-581: The Victoria Hotel. A group of Belgian and Italian nuns were taken hostage by rebel leader Gaston Soumaliot. The nuns were forced into hard labor and numerous atrocities were reported by news agencies all over the world. Uvira , near the border with Burundi was a supply route for the rebellions. On October 7, 1964, the nuns were liberated. From Uvira they escaped by road to Bukavu from where they returned to Belgium by airplane. In late October 1964, nearly 1,000 European and U.S. citizens were taken hostage by rebel forces in Stanleyville. In response, Belgium and

7424-446: The World Youth Alliance warned that the Banyamulenge (Tutsis) people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo "are facing another wave of inhumane emotional and psychological terror and being subjected to genocidal acts of violence. A coalition of local militias has been carrying out killings of Banyamulenge people who have been in a dire humanitarian situation in the central African region for years. In addition, popular politicians, both in

7540-417: The airfield and cleared the runway they made their way to the Victoria Hotel, prevented Simba rebels from killing most of the 60 hostages, and evacuated them via the airfield. Over the next two days over 1,800 Americans and Europeans were evacuated, as well as around 400 Congolese. However, almost 200 foreigners and thousands of Congolese were executed by the Simbas. Among them were several missionaries such as

7656-568: The areas bordering Uganda, Sudan, and the Central African Republic . These operations cut off important rebel supply routes, recaptured a number of strategically significant towns in northern Orientale Province, and deprived the insurgents of local gold mines. This greatly weakened the Simba rebellion. Meanwhile, around 100 Afro-Cuban volunteers under Che Guevara arrived to train the remaining Simba forces in eastern Congo. There were also plans to send trainers from other communist countries to Congo as well. Instead, however, international support for

7772-404: The ascendancy of Joseph Kasa-Vubu and Joseph-Désiré Mobutu in Kinshasa at the expense of politicians who had supported Lumumba such as Antoine Gizenga , Christophe Gbenye , and Gaston Soumialot. In 1961, this change in power led Antoine Gizenga to declare the creation of a rebel government in Stanleyville . This rival government, dubbed the Free Republic of the Congo , received support from

7888-451: The back of the eastern insurrection, which never recovered." The Simba leadership fled into exile while descending into disarray and severe disagreements; Gbenye was shot in the shoulder by one of his generals after dismissing him. However, many African states voiced support for the Simbas' cause after the Belgian operations. Though the main rebel forces had been dispersed, large areas in eastern Congo remained under Simba control. In fact,

8004-543: The beginning of the Rwandan Civil War in 1990, many young Tutsi men in Kivu crossed the border to join the Tutsi-dominated rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) in its fight against the Hutu-dominated Rwandan government. In response, the Mobutu government implemented Mission d'Identification de Zaïrois au Kivu to identify non-Zairean Banyarwanda, using the end of the Berlin Conference as the division point. Many Banyarwanda whose families had come as colonial labourers were classified as aliens, resulting in yet more youth joining

8120-407: The campaign's beginning. The first airborne assault was carried out on 24 November. Organized by Belgian Colonel Charles Laurent, the attack was code-named Dragon Rouge and targeted Stanleyville. Five US Air Force C-130 transports dropped 350 Belgian paratroopers of the Para-Commando Regiment onto Simi-Simi Airport on the western outskirts of Stanleyville. Once the paratroopers had secured

8236-449: The capital Bukavu, while their children were increasingly sent to missionary schools. Starting at this time, Lemarchand asserts, "From a rural, isolated, backward community, the Banyamulenge would soon become increasingly aware of themselves as a political force." After the war, the group took advantage of a favourable political environment to expand their territory. Some moved south towards Moba port and Kalemi , while others moved onto

8352-485: The community has played a major part in modern Congolese politics due to the influence of Cuba-based ex-Simbas on the first post-Mobutu government of the Congo. Bembe people The Bembe people ( Babembe in the plural) are an ethnic group based in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and western Katavi Region of Tanzania . They live mainly in the territory of Fizi in South Kivu . The Bembe are also in

8468-546: The conflict would result in lasting ethnic resentment in South Kivu, as the Simba insurgents of the region had mostly belonged to the Bembe people . Accordingly, the memory of the Banyamulenge-Simba fighting became ethnically charged, a development which was further fuelled by the Banyamulenge exploiting their victory over the rebels by expanding their holdings in South Kivu after the rebellion. The local ethnic rivalries would have

8584-555: The death of Rwabugiri. This group was mostly Tutsi and their Hutu abagaragu (clients), who had been icyihuture (turned Tutsi), which negated interethnic tension. They settled above the Ruzizi Plain on the Itombwe Plateau . The plateau, which reached an altitude of 3000 meters, could not support large-scale agriculture, but allowed cattle grazing. This version is grossly disputed because various tribes had been in conflict over where

8700-466: The drum is played can be called a six-beat tune. The music is played in celebration of any sort. The music is accompanied by the folk dance. The dance utilizes movements of the shoulder and waist. It is referred to as Esuba. Folk music has also been adapted into more modernise genres. Cuisine Babembe cuisine consists of cassava-based foods and fish. The fish they love to eat the most are Mkeke or Mkebuka and Dagaa (a very small fish). Cassava can come in

8816-454: The emergence of a Cuban-Congolese community. Marked by a unique blend of Cuban and Congolese cultures, this community spread beyond Cuba, as some Cuban-Congolese ultimately returned to Africa or relocated to other parts of the world. Many ex-Simbas greatly profited from the better education opportunities in Cuba, and integrated well into the society of their host country. Despite being relatively small,

8932-459: The following territories including Itombwe, Lulenge, Ngandja, Tanganyika and M'tambala. In each territories the land occupants are well-known regardless of its inhabitancy. Though some part of Sud Kivu is inhabited, the dwellers of the land know well their territories and which land belonging to which tribe. In recent years, tensions over the identity of the Banyamulenge and their claims to a newly established district/"commune" (Minembwe) have created

9048-626: The foreign groups. In 1993, the issue of land and indigenous claims in the Kivus erupted into bloody conflict. Hutu, and some Tutsi, landlords began buying the lands of poor Hutu and Bahunde of the Wanyanga chiefdom in Masisi , North Kivu. After being displaced, one thousand people went to Walikale , demanding the right to elect their own ethnic leaders. The Banyanga, insisting that only "indigenous people" could claim this customary right, began fighting with

9164-505: The government forces in half, isolating Katanga Province and severely overstretching ANC lines. In August 1964 unknown thousands of Simbas moved down out of the hills and began the conquest of Kasaï. As before ANC forces retreated with little fight by either throwing down arms completely or defecting to the rebels. Newly appointed Prime Minister Tshombe acted decisively against the new threat. Using contacts he had made while exiled in Spain, Tshombe

9280-449: The government offensives stalled after the reconquest of Stanleyville and Isiro. The Simba rebels proved to be still a capable fighting force by inflicting a major defeat on the ANC near Bafwasende in early February 1965, followed by another, smaller rebel victory near Bumba later that month. Regardless, the insurgents had become too weak to actually restart their offensives and were unable to exploit their defensive successes, resulting in

9396-548: The government troops, the Cubans realized that no revolution would occur in the Congo. In November 1965, the Communist Cubans left the Congo in a nightly evacuation. At this point, the Simba rebellion was effectively defeated. According to historian Gérard Prunier , most of the remaining Simba rebels were "slaughter[ed]" by the ANC, mercenaries, and Banyamulenge militias. Many Simbas and their families were able to escape into exile; some ultimately relocated to Cuba. Though

9512-414: The important harbor town of Albertville in late May, capturing Jason Sendwe , President of North Katanga Province . On 30 May 1964, a small ANC detachment led by Louis Bobozo retook the town, rescuing Sendwe and killing about 250 rebels. The government troops soon alienated the locals due to their brutal behavior. When another rebellion broke out in the town on 19 June 1964, Soumialot's forces exploited

9628-466: The increasing tensions within the Banyarwanda community of North Kivu led to the division of the organization into Tutsi and Hutu groups in North Kivu due to the fact that Hutus held power in Rwanda. The 1991 Sovereign National Conference (CNS) was a sign of the increasing coherence of the anti-Mobutu forces, and came as the Congolese Banyarwanda were in a state of heightened tension. Following

9744-415: The key town of Boende . After this success, more mercenaries were hired and dispatched to every province in Congo. Once that the final Simba offensives were checked, the ANC began to squeeze Simba-controlled territory from all sides. ANC commanders formed a loose perimeter around rebel areas, pushing in with a variety of shallow and deep pincers . With mercenaries acting as shock contingent for ANC forces,

9860-418: The late 1990s, political scientist René Lemarchand stated that the main ethnic groups claimed the Banyamulenge numbered around 50,000 to 70,000. Gérard Prunier quotes around 60,000–80,000, a figure of about 3–4 percent of the total provincial population. Lemarchand notes that the group represents "a rather unique case of ethnogenesis ". Mulenge is a term historically referring to mountains concentrated on

9976-482: The massacres of Hutu became part of the ruling military forces in the Kivus. Meanwhile, the Congolese government of Laurent Kabila urged the "indigenous" population to fight not only the invading RPA ( Rwandan Patriotic Army ), but also the Congolese Tutsi civilians, the mostly affected being Banyamulenge. Matching actions to words, Kabila armed "indigenous" militias Mai-Mai and Congolese Hutu militias, as well as

10092-407: The motorized Gendarmes. Mike Hoare , a white mercenary commander, led three boats of mercenaries around the Simba rebel flank to attack Albertville from the rear in a night attack. The move made good progress but was diverted when it ran across a Catholic priest who convinced the mercenaries to rescue 60 clergy being held by Simba troops. The mercenaries failed to either rescue the priests or capture

10208-544: The new prime minister on 30 July 1964. Tshombe reorganized the Congolese war effort, circumventing other political and military leaders such as Kasa-Vubu and Mobutu. He asked the Western nations for military assistance, recruited White mercenaries, and brought his exiled loyalist troops (the Katangese Gendarmerie ) back into the country. The mercenary-led forces gradually arrived at the frontlines from July 1964. Tshombe's rise to power caused considerable displeasure in

10324-442: The newcomers would stay to herd their sheeps. Thus they were given the mulenge mountain to herd. Banyarwanda migrants continued to arrive, particularly as labour migrants during the colonial period. The Union Minière du Haut Katanga recruited more than 7000 workers from 1925 to 1929. From the 1930s, Congolese Banyarwanda immigrants continued coming in search of work, with a major influx of Tutsi refugees in 1959–1960 following

10440-469: The other Simba factions. Kabila and Massengo's troops conquered the entire western shore of Lake Tanganyika , including Moba by late June. They then advanced into the Province of Maniema , and captured its strategically important capital Kindu on 22 July. The local Armée Nationale Congolaise (ANC) garrisons reacted with brutal counter-insurgency actions that failed to defeat the Simbas, but alienated

10556-462: The population of the eastern provinces. Furthermore, the Simba rebels often managed to intimidate well-equipped ANC units into retreating or defecting without a fight, thereby capturing much-needed weaponry for the insurgency. As the Simba rebellion in eastern Congo spread, the states of the Eastern Bloc took increasing interest. The Soviet Union implored neighboring nationalist regimes to aid

10672-567: The province of Tanganyika in the city of Kalemie . In 1991, the Bembe population of the DRC was estimated to number 252,000 and around 1.5 million in 2005. They are representative of many ethnic traditions, including pre- Lega , Boyo- Kunda , Hemba and Bemba . A semi-nomadic people, who often settled in forest environments. The women cultivated the crops and the men hunted, fished and other entrepreneurship business. Music The babembe people traditionally play drums in their folk music. The way

10788-525: The provinces and the capital city Kinshasa have started campaigns whose main goal is to demonize Tutsis, the Banyamulenge community in particular, by denying their inalienable right to Congolese autochthony and scapegoating them for the woes that the country has been through since the 1990s." Paris, L’Harmattan, 2001, 299 p. Simba Rebellion Simba rebels Rwandan exile groups [REDACTED]   Uganda [REDACTED] Sudan Other major events The Simba rebellion , also known as

10904-575: The rebel movement spread, acts of violence and terror increased. Thousands of Congolese were executed in systematic purges by the Simbas, including government officials, political leaders of opposition parties, provincial and local police, school teachers, and others believed to have been Westernized. Many of the executions were carried out with extreme cruelty, in front of a monument to Patrice Lumumba in Stanleyville. About 1,000 to 2,000 Westernized Congolese were murdered in Stanleyville alone. In contrast,

11020-520: The rebellion is very complex. Whilst the leaders claimed to be influenced by Chinese Maoist ideas , the Cuban military advisor Che Guevara wrote that the majority of the fighters did not hold these views. The fighters also practised a system of traditional beliefs which held that correct behaviour and the regular reapplying of dawa (water ritually applied by a medicine man ) would leave the fighters impervious to bullets. Researcher Ato Kwamena Onoma described

11136-408: The rebels initially left whites and foreigners mostly alone. Following the fall of Stanleyville, the Congolese government reacted to the prominent involvement of Rwandan exiles in the Simba rebellion by ordering that all Rwandan refugees were to be expelled from the Congo. Even though the vast majority of Rwandans in the Congo were uninvolved in the uprising and living peacefully, they were consequently

11252-465: The rebels killed were from the neighbouring Bembe people aggravated the existing tensions between the group who felt The bayamulenge were overstaying their welcome and discriminating against their neighbors who had allowed them to graze their cattle and also the fact that they had been brought predominantly by colonials and forced on their lands. The government rewarded the Banyamulenge efforts on its behalf by appointing individuals to high positions in

11368-412: The rebels to make stands and face the government forces head-on in battles in which they were disadvantaged. The final Simba stronghold near Bukavu held out for a month. It was captured only after the Simba force had killed several thousand civilians. Morale among the rebels plummeted, and many Rwandans wanted to quit the conflict. As local farmers also turned against the Simbas, showing insurgent camps to

11484-435: The rebels. By April 1965, several thousand pro-Simba Rwandan militants operated in eastern Congo, but their support did little to stem the ANC's advance. By May 1965, the Simbas had lost a majority of their territory in northeastern Congo. Despite this, the Cubans attempted to improve the training and organization of the Congolese and Rwandan insurgents. In late June, Kabila ordered a first Cuban-Simba-Rwandan attack aimed at

11600-556: The rebels. The Soviet leadership promised that it would replace all weaponry given to the Simbas in given time, but rarely did so. In order to supply the rebels, the Soviet Union transported equipment via cargo planes to Juba in allied Sudan . From there, the Sudanese brought the weapons to Congo This operation backfired, however, as southern Sudan was engulfed in its own civil war . The Sudanese Anyanya insurgents consequently ambushed

11716-789: The resulting chaos and captured Albertville. The government forces fled, leaving Sendwe behind; he was subsequently murdered by either Simba rebels or, less likely, ANC soldiers, though the circumstances remain unclear and disputed. Meanwhile, Christophe Gbenye and Nicholas Olenga rose in revolt in northeastern Congo, quickly expanding their army and territories. By June 1964, they held North Kivu , and southern Orientale Province. They did not coordinate their operations with Soumialot who distrusted Gbenye. A third rebel force, independent of Soumialot, Gbenye, and Olenga, rebelled in northern Katanga in early June. These insurgents considered themselves "true" Communists, and were led by Laurent-Désiré Kabila and Ildéphonse Massengo. They had no real connections to

11832-481: The situation of the Banyamulenge. The Congolese Tutsi in North Kivu were threatened by the new armed Hutu camps, while the newly established Tutsi government in Rwanda gave them a safe place to go. Their peril was underlined by a commission led by Mambweni Vangu , who declared that all Banyarwanda were refugees and must return to Rwanda. In April 1995, Anzuluni Mbembe , the co-speaker of the Parliament of Congo, signed

11948-450: The target of ethnic violence and blamed "for all sorts of evil" by Congolese authorities. With much of northern Congo and the Congolese upcountry under their control, the Simba rebels moved south against Kasaï Province . Kasaï had rich mining concerns but was also a strategic key to more lasting control of Congo. If the rebels could capture Kasai Province up to the Angola border they could cut

12064-595: The time of the 1985 provincial assembly elections, so the so-called "indigenous Kivutian majority" came up with an ad hoc measure: Banyarwanda (including Banyamulenge and Tutsi from North Kivu) were allowed to vote in elections, but not to run for political office. This appeared to aggravate the situation, as those Banyarwanda who qualified as citizens under the 1981 law still found their political rights curtailed. Some so-called Banyarwanda, particularly Banyamulenge, smashed ballot boxes in protest. Others formed Umoja, an organization of all Congolese Banyarwanda. However, in 1988,

12180-562: The towns of Fizi, Uvira, and Minembwe, which was recently declared a "commune" among many others in 2018. In August 2004, 166 Banyamulenge refugees were massacred at a refugee camp in Gatumba , Burundi by a force composed mostly of National Liberation Front rebels. Vice-president Azarias Ruberwa , a Munyamulenge, suspended his participation in the transitional government for one week in protest, before being persuaded to return to Kinshasa by South African pressure. Many Banyamulenge were opposed to

12296-418: The tsutsi monarchy and colonial clash between 1959 and 1973. Many Banyamulenge initially joined the Simba Rebellion of 1964–5, but switched sides when rebels, fleeing Jean Schramme 's mercenaries and government troops, came onto the plateau and began to overthrow this rebellion. The Tutsi rose up, accepting weapons from the pro- Mobutu forces and assisting in the defeat of the remaining rebels. Because many of

12412-492: The uprising after the creation of RCD-Goma. In early 2002, extensive fighting took place on the high plateau of South Kivu after Commandant Patrick Masunzu , then a Tutsi officer in the Rwandan-backed Rally for Congolese Democracy-Goma (RCD-Goma) rebel movement, gathered Banyamulenge support in an uprising against the RCD-Goma leadership. By 2000, the Banyamulenge were hemmed into the high plateau by Congolese Mai-Mai,

12528-528: The village, raid all the cattle, tell the population—since when have you learned to keep cattle; we are cattle; we know cattle. In Bukavu, they went into and stole from houses. Not so much in Goma. The result is the population is increasingly getting concerned over the question of the Tutsi presence. The situation became more polarised with the beginning of the Second Congo War in 1998. Those who had carried out

12644-628: The wider struggle for power within the Republic of the Congo following independence from Belgium on 30 June 1960 as well as within the context of other Cold War interventions in Africa by the West and the Soviet Union . The rebellion can be immediately traced back to the assassination of the first Prime Minister of the Congo, Patrice Lumumba , in January 1961. Political infighting and intrigue followed, resulting in

12760-588: Was able to organize an airlift of his former soldiers currently exiled in rural Angola. The airlift was enacted by the United States and facilitated by the Portuguese as both feared a Soviet influenced socialist state in the middle of Africa. Tshombe's forces were composed primarily of Belgian trained Katangese Gendarmes who had previously served the Belgian Colonial Authority. They were a highly disciplined and well equipped force who had only just barely lost

12876-525: Was an mixture of nationalism, village Marxism, and magic. — Monteagle Stearns , United States diplomat Christophe Gbenye 's forces were organized as the "Armée Populaire de Libération" (APL), though were generally nicknamed "Simbas", meaning a lion or big lion in Swahili . They were recruited from ANC mutineers, tribesmen, and youth militants ( jeunesse ). In general, the Armée Populaire de Libération

12992-422: Was contemporaneous with the Kwilu rebellion led by fellow Lumumbist Pierre Mulele in central Congo. The Simba rebels were initially successful and captured much of eastern Congo, proclaiming a " people's republic " at Stanleyville . However, the insurgency suffered from a lack of organization and coherence, as well as tensions between the rebel leadership and its international allies of the Eastern Bloc . When

13108-443: Was decided that covert aid would be channeled to him primarily through Uganda, due to its proximity to the geographic base of the rebellion. Obote selected Colonel Idi Amin to lead the assistance effort. As Uganda continued to support the rebels, the Congolese government retaliated by bombing the two villages of Paidha and Goli in Uganda's West Nile District on 13 February 1965. The bombings caused minimal damage, but resulted in

13224-445: Was divided into regular units which were organized like the ANC (namely the unités d'operations and unités de garnison ), and units which were more akin to irregular militias ( barriéres ). Although they were on average well motivated, the Simbas lacked discipline and their command as well as control were often chaotic. They were also poorly armed, with many rebels relying on machetes and spears due to lacking guns. The majority of

13340-524: Was losing so many of his fighters that the exiles' plans to invade Rwanda in future had become almost impossible. The ANC launched another campaign, " Operation South ", in September 1965 against the last major Simba stronghold which was located at Fizi - Baraka in South Kivu. Despite the occasional rebel success, the ANC and the mercenaries continued their advance, and began to cut off the insurgents from their supply roues across Lake Tanganyika. This forced

13456-750: Was possessed by the North Kivu Banyarwanda. The pastoralists were located within three territoires : Mwenga , inhabited by the Lega people ; Fizi of the Bembe people, the Babwari people and the Banyindu people; and Uvira, inhabited by the Vira people , Bafuliro and Barundi. Ethnic tensions against the Tutsi rose following the end of the colonial period, as well as during the 1972 mass killing of Hutu in Burundi . In response,

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