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39-533: Musanze is Rwanda's most mountainous district, containing the largest part of the Volcanoes National Park , and its head office at Kinigi. Five of the eight volcanoes of the Virunga chain ( Karisimbi , Bisoke , Sabyinyo , Gahinga and Muhabura ) are within the district boundaries. It is also in this district that most of Rwanda's mountain gorillas are found, making it the most popular tourist destination in

78-463: A buffer zone between the national park and its fauna and flora and the surrounding human communities. The buffer zone will be used for agriculture, particularly agroforestry, which will benefit the park and the humans together. It is expected that this arrangement will reduce "human-wildlife conflicts by 80 percent". Work was expected to start in 2022 and last five years, working with a budget of US$ 255 million. The Rwanda Development Board announced that

117-517: A huge area of 8,090 km , run by the Belgian colonial authorities who were in charge of both colonies. In 1958, 700 hectares of the park were cleared for a human settlement. Between 1969 and 1973, 1,050 hectares of the park were cleared to grow pyrethrum . The park later became the base for the American naturalist Dian Fossey to carry out her research on the gorillas. She arrived in 1967 and set up

156-751: A key source of cross-border tensions would be removed. On October 4, 2005, the United Nations Security Council issued a statement demanding the FDLR disarm and leave the Democratic Republic of the Congo immediately. Under an agreement reached in August, the rebels had pledged to leave Congo by September 30. In August 2007, the Congolese military announced that it was ending a seven-month offensive against

195-464: A pilot program will begin in 2024. Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda The Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda ( French : Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda , FDLR ) ( Kinyarwanda : Ingabo za demokarasi zo kubohoza u Rwanda , IDKR ) is an armed rebel group active in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo . As an ethnic Hutu group opposed to

234-557: A reserve brigade in North Kivu and four battalions in South Kivu . It named the political and military headquarters as Kibua and Kalonge respectively, both in the jungle covered Walikale region of North Kivu . It also said that 'about the same number' of Rwandan citizens, family members of combatants, and unrelated refugees remained behind FDLR lines in separate communities. In December 2008 DR Congo and Rwanda agreed to attempt to disband

273-602: A significant number of people from their homes in Busurungi to Hombo , 20 kilometres (12 mi) north. The Congolese Army and MONUC have conducted Operation Kimia II in North and South Kivu to try to eliminate the FDLR, which has not been very successful. The FDLR website was hosted in Germany, but after the request of the German newspaper Die Tageszeitung , it was taken offline. The website

312-520: Is a national park in northwestern Rwanda . It covers 160 km (62 sq mi) of rainforest and encompasses five of the eight volcanoes in the Virunga Mountains , namely Karisimbi , Bisoke , Muhabura , Gahinga and Sabyinyo . It borders Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Uganda . It is home to the mountain gorilla and

351-536: Is now hosted by the Italian provider Register.it. The UN peacekeeping mission MONUC has been accused of sharing intelligence with the FDLR. However, these accusations are unreliable at best as they were made by the New Times, a media outlet under Rwanda state control. The government of Rwanda has been hostile towards MONUC and during its proxy war with the Congo, its military forces even attacked peacekeepers while part of

390-470: Is relatively small. The park is best known for the mountain gorilla ( Gorilla beringei beringei ). Other mammals include: golden monkey ( Cercopithecus mitis kandti ), black-fronted duiker ( Cephalophus niger ), African buffalo ( Syncerus caffer ), spotted hyena ( Crocuta crocuta ) and harnessed bushbuck ( Tragelaphus scriptus ). The bushbuck population is estimated to be between 1760–7040 animals. There are also reported to be African elephants in

429-936: Is the first to be held in Germany for crimes against this law. In October 2010, the Executive Secretary, Callixte Mbarushimana , was arrested in France under a sealed warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity and war crimes allegedly committed in the Kivus ( Democratic Republic of the Congo ). The warrant concerns widespread attacks allegedly committed by FDLR troops against civilians in North and South Kivu in 2009. The Court's judges state that there are reasonable grounds to believe that Mbarushimana bears criminal responsibility for these attacks, including murder, torture, rape, persecution and inhumane acts. The warrant alleges that Mbarushimana

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468-631: The ethnic Tutsi influence, the FDLR is one of the last factions of Rwandan rebels active in the Congo. It was founded through an amalgamation of other groups of Rwandan refugees in September 2000, including the former Army for the Liberation of Rwanda (ALiR), under the leadership of Paul Rwarakabije. It was active during the latter phases of the Second Congo War and the subsequent insurgencies in Kivu . As of December 2009, Major General Sylvestre Mudacumura

507-581: The golden monkey , and was the base for the primatologist Dian Fossey . The park was first gazetted in 1925, as a small area bounded by Karisimbi, Bisoke and Mikeno , intended to protect the gorillas from poachers. It was the very first national park to be created in Africa. In 1929, the borders of the park were extended further into Rwanda and into the Belgian Congo , to form the Albert National Park,

546-733: The 'old' ALiR I in North Kivu , made up of ex-FAR and Interahamwe , about 4,000 strong, and the 'new' ALiR II operating in South Kivu out of DR Congo government supported bases in Kasai and northern Katanga . Prunier says of ALiR II that '..it had over 10,000 men, and although many of the officers were old genocidaires most of the combatants were recruited after 1997. They were the ones that fought around Pepa , Moba , and Pweto in late 2000.' 'The even newer FDLR had around 3,000 men, based in Kamina in Katanga . Still untried in combat, they had been trained by

585-620: The CNDP. On August 24, 2010, the United Nations confirmed that rebels from the FDLR and from the Mai Mai militia raped and assaulted at least 154 civilians from July 30 to August 3, in the town of Luvungi in North Kivu province. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon , who had made protecting civilians and combating sexual violence central themes of his presidency, was reported to be outraged by

624-498: The FDLR announced on 31 March 2005 that they were abandoning their armed struggle and returning to Rwanda as a political party . The talks held in Rome , Italy were mediated by Sant'Egidio . The Rwandan government stated that any returning genocidaires would face justice, most probably through the gacaca court system. It was stated that if all of the FDLR commanders, who are believed to control about 10,000 militants, disarmed and returned,

663-514: The FDLR is believed to be responsible for about a dozen terrorist attacks committed in 2009. These acts of terrorism have killed hundreds of civilians in Eastern Congo. Before ALiR merged with the FDLR in September 2000, the military configuration was as follows: Gérard Prunier presents a different picture to the ICG's assessment. As of approximately August 2001, he describes two separate ALiR groups,

702-750: The FDLR, though they will have to destroy the organisation by force or otherwise shut it down. On January 20, 2009, the Rwandan Army, in concert with the Congolese government, entered the DR Congo to hunt down lingering FDLR fighters. On 9 and 10 May 2009, FDLR rebels were blamed for attacks on the villages of Ekingi ( South Kivu ) and Busurungi ( Walikale territory, southern boundary of North Kivu ). More than 90 people were killed at Ekingi, including 60 civilians and 30 government troops, and "dozens more" were said to be killed at Busurungi. The FDLR were blamed by

741-628: The FDLR, again, along with his 48-year-old deputy, Straton Musoni , in Karlsruhe . This was considered a severe blow to the FDLR organization. The trial for Murwanashyaka and Musoni began on May 4, 2011, before the Oberlandesgericht in Stuttgart . They are accused of several counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity according to the German Völkerstrafgesetzbuch . Their trial

780-606: The FDLR, prompting a sharp rebuke by the government of Rwanda. Prior to this, Gen. Laurent Nkunda had split from the government, taking Banyamulenge (ethnic Tutsis in the DRC) soldiers from the former Rally for Congolese Democracy and assaulting FDLR positions, displacing a further 160,000 people. In October 2007 the International Crisis Group said that the group's military forces had dropped from an estimated 15,000 in 2001 to 6–7,000 then, organised into four battalions and

819-623: The FLDR was accused of attacking a civilian convoy in the Virunga National Park , killing a dozen park rangers, while in February 2021, it was accused of killing the Italian ambassador to DRC, Luca Attanasio , his bodyguard and his driver. In October 2022, findings from reports by Human Rights Watch revealed that the Congolese military provided support to the FDRL rebel group in their engagement against

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858-480: The Karisoke Research Centre between Karisimbi and Visoke. From then on, she spent most of her time in the park, and is widely credited with saving the gorillas from extinction by bringing their plight to the attention of the international community. She was murdered by unknown assailants at her home in 1985, a crime often attributed to the poachers she had spent her life fighting against. Fossey's life later

897-586: The United Nations' Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs . The UN Group of Experts' report, S/2009/603, issued 9 November 2009, said "Consistent statements collected by the Group from FDLR elements who participated in this attack confirmed that it was conducted in retaliation against the FARDC for the killings in late April 2009 at Shalio." The Group further commented that "The attack at Busurungi on 10 May 2009

936-535: The Zimbabweans and were a small, fully equipped conventional army.' It is not clear which if either of these two accounts is correct. The ALiR is currently listed on the U.S. Department of State's Terrorist Exclusion List as a terrorist organization. The FDLR counts among its number the original members of the Interahamwe that led the 1994 Rwandan genocide . It received extensive backing from, and cooperation from,

975-514: The attack. Atul Khare, deputy head of the U.N.'s peacekeeping department, was dispatched to the region, and Margot Wallström , the organisation's special representative for sexual violence in conflict, was instructed to take charge of the U.N. response and follow up. The United Nations had withdrawn 1,700 peace keepers in recent months, responding to the Congolese government's demand to end the UN peacekeeping mission (recently renamed MONUSCO). Earlier Wallstrom

1014-618: The command of Col Kalume. Reportedly, the attacks were also perpetrated by the Special Company under the command of Capt Mugisha Vainquer. Some information received by the Group indicated that the operation was supported by an FDLR commando unit." The FDLR had attacked several other villages in the preceding weeks and clashes occurred between FDLR forces and the Congolese Army, during which government forces are reported to have lost men killed and wounded. The most recent attacks have forced

1053-404: The country. Musanze district is divided into 15 sectors ( imirenge ): Busogo, Cyuve , Gacaca, Gashaki , Gataraga, Kimonyi, Kinigi, Muhoza , Muko, Musanze , Nkotsi, Nyange, Remera, Rwaza and Shingiro. But Musanze district is not entirely covering the whole area of former Ruhengeri province. 68 cells, and 432 umudugudus/villages, with a population of 398,986. Musanze is situated closer to

1092-618: The equator, making summers hard to define. In Musanze the average annual temperature is 15.9 C | 60.6 F. In winter there's much less rainfall than in summer. Irish potatoes are mainly grown in Burera , Musanze, Nyabihu and Rubavu districts and this program is expected to harmonize the Irish potato trading locally and turn it into export-oriented business 1°30′S 29°36′E  /  1.500°S 29.600°E  / -1.500; 29.600 Volcanoes National Park Volcanoes National Park

1131-629: The gorillas) were stopped. They did not resume again until 1999 when the area was deemed to be safe and under control. There have been occasional infiltrations by Rwandan rebels from the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda in subsequent years, but these are always stopped quickly by the Rwandan army and there is thought to be no threat to tourism in the park. Buhanga Eco-Park, an ancient woodland containing Rwanda's most interesting folklore, and Musanze Caves, constructed 62 million years ago after

1170-571: The government of Congolese President Laurent-Désiré Kabila , who used the FDLR as a proxy force against the foreign Rwandan armies operating in the country, in particular the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPF military wing) and Rwanda-backed Rally for Congolese Democracy . In July 2002, FDLR units still in Kinshasa-held territory moved into North and South Kivu . At this time it was thought to have between 15,000 and 20,000 members. Even after

1209-444: The last estimated volcanic explosion, are both located inside the limits of Volcanoes National Park. Vegetation varies considerably due to the large altitudinal range within the park. There is some lower montane forest (now mainly lost to agriculture). Between 2400 and 2500 m, there is Neoboutonia forest. From 2500 to 3200 m Arundinaria alpina (bamboo) forest occurs, covering about 30% of the park area. From 2600 to 3600 m, mainly on

Musanze District - Misplaced Pages Continue

1248-461: The more humid slopes in the south and west, is Hagenia -Hypericum forest, which covers about 30% of the park. This is one of the largest forests of Hagenia abyssinica . The vegetation from 3500 to 4200 m is characterised by Lobelia wollastonii , L. lanurensis , and Senecio erici-rosenii and covers about 25% of the park. From 4300 to 4500 m grassland occurs. Secondary thicket, meadows, marshes, swamps and small lakes also occur, but their total area

1287-561: The official end of the Second Congo War in 2002, FDLR units continued to attack Tutsi forces both in eastern DRC and across the border into Rwanda, vastly increasing tensions in the region and raising the possibility of another Rwandan offensive into the DRC – what would be their third since 1996. In mid-2004, a number of attacks forced 25,000 Congolese to flee their homes . Following several days of talks with Congolese government representatives,

1326-655: The park, though these are now very rare. There are 178 recorded bird species, with at least 13 species and 16 subspecies endemic to the Virunga and Rwenzori Mountains . In 2022, the Government of Rwanda announced plans to expand this national park from 13,000 hectares (50 sq mi) to 23,000 hectares (89 sq mi). Of the new 10,000 hectares (39 sq mi), park activities will expand into an estimated new 3,740 hectares (14.4 sq mi) and an estimated 6,260 hectares (24.2 sq mi) will be used to create

1365-485: Was conducted in clear violation of international human rights law and international humanitarian law. The systematic nature of attacks by the FDLR against the civilian population at Busurungi suggests that they could qualify as crimes against humanity. The attack on Busurungi was perpetrated by the elements of the FDLR battalion "Zodiac" under the command of Lt Col Nzegiyumva of the FDLR Reserve Brigade, in turn under

1404-494: Was part of a plan to create a humanitarian catastrophe to extract concessions of political power for the FDLR. On 13 July 2012, the ICC announced an arrest mandate against the FDLR chief Sylvestre Mudacumura for war crimes committed in the Kivus as well as against Bosco Ntaganda . On 7 November 2019, Trial Chamber VI of International Criminal Court (ICC) sentenced Bosco Ntaganda to a total of 30 years of imprisonment. In April 2020,

1443-537: Was portrayed on the big screen in the film Gorillas in the Mist , named after her autobiography. She is buried in the park in a grave close to the research center, and amongst the gorillas which became her life. The Volcanoes National Park became a battlefield during the Rwandan Civil War , with the park headquarters being attacked in 1992. The research centre was abandoned, and all tourist activities (including visiting

1482-630: Was quoted as saying that this withdrawal would make the struggle against sexual violence in the region significantly more difficult. FDLR chairman Ignace Murwanashyaka was arrested in Mannheim, Germany, in April 2006, but released shortly thereafter. However, in November 2009, after pressure applied by the United Nations, the German Bundeskriminalamt captured Murwanashyaka, the 46-year-old chairman of

1521-597: Was the FDLR's overall military commander. He was the former deputy commander of the FAR Presidential Guard in Rwanda in 1994. Mudacumura was killed by DRC security in 2019. The FDLR made a partial separation between its military and civilian wings in September 2003 when a formal armed branch, the Forces Combattantes Abacunguzi (FOCA), was created. According to the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center,

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