In a significant development on Monday, hundreds of members from a self-proclaimed community self-defence group voluntarily presented themselves to the Congolese army in northeastern DR Congo.
The event unfolded in the provincial center of Bunia, where the group, mostly composed of unarmed young men dressed in civilian attire, signed a unilateral “peace accord.”
As this unexpected convoy entered the city, local shops and businesses promptly closed, capturing the attention of onlookers.
This group, identified as “Zaire,” asserted its establishment in 2019 with the mission of defending the interests of five communities that had fallen victim to atrocities in the Ituri province near the border with Uganda.
Representing the Hema, Mambisa, Alur, Akongo-Nyali, and Ndo-Okebu communities, Zaire emerges as a rival to Codeco (“Cooperative for the Development of Congo”), a militia with several thousand members dedicated to safeguarding the Lendu tribe from the Hema and their allies.
Following a relatively peaceful decade, inter-ethnic unrest resurfaced in late 2017, resulting in the tragic deaths of thousands of civilians and the displacement of over a million individuals.
Notably, a previous conflict between rival militias claimed thousands of lives between 1999 and 2003, eventually necessitating intervention by a European peacekeeping force.
Expressing their commitment to the peace process, Zaire’s spokesman, Jean-Marie Ngadjole, declared the group’s readiness to participate in a community integration program led by Congolese authorities.
Ngadjole emphasized the group’s dedication to ensuring the free movement of people and goods across all communities, urging authorities to facilitate the release of its imprisoned members.
Responding to this development, General Chalwe Munkutu Ngwashi, Ituri’s deputy governor, acknowledged the group’s commitment and called for “mutual forgiveness” and “reconciliation.”
However, he also underscored the importance of “disarming our hearts” in addition to any physical disarmament.
Notably, no specific date has been set for Zaire’s disarmament, and while similar agreements have been reached with other groups, including Codeco, the tangible impact on the ground has been minimal, with violence persisting.
