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First Congo War
The First Congo War (1996–1997) was a foreign invasion of Zaire led by Rwanda that replaced President Mobutu Sésé Seko with the rebel leader Laurent-Désiré Kabila. Destabilization in eastern Zaire resulting from the Rwandan genocide was the final factor that caused numerous internal and external factors to align against the corrupt and inept government in the capital, Kinshasa. -
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Second Congo War
The Second Congo War began in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in August 1998. The war officially ended in July 2003, when the Transitional Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo took power. Although a peace agreement was signed in 2002, violence has continued in many regions of the country, especially in the east. Hostilities have continued since the ongoing Lord's Resistance Army insurgency, and the Kivu and Ituri conflicts. -
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Ituri Conflict
The Ituri conflict 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. -
UNSC Resolution 1234
United Nations Security Council resolution 1234, adopted unanimously on 9 April 1999, after expressing concern at the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Council demanded an immediate halt to hostilities in the region, a withdrawal of foreign forces and the re-establishment of the government's authority. -
Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement
The Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement attempted to end the Second Congo War through a ceasefire, release of prisoners of war, and the deployment of an international peacekeeping force under the auspices of the United Nations. The heads of state of Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Namibia, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe signed the agreement in Lusaka, Zambia on July 10, 1999. -
UNSC Resolution 1258
United Nations Security Council resolution 1258, adopted unanimously on 6 August 1999, after reaffirming Resolution 1234 (1999) on situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Council authorised the deployment of military liaison personnel to the capitals of the signatories of the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement. -
UNSC Resolution 1273
United Nations Security Council resolution 1273, adopted unanimously on 5 November 1999, after reaffirming resolutions 1234 (1999) and 1258 (1999) on situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Council extended the deployment of the 90 military liaison personnel as part of efforts to assist the peace process in the country until 15 January 2000. -
UNSC Resolution 1279
The Security Council reaffirmed that the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement represented the most favourable basis for a resolution of the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. There was concern about violations of the ceasefire, the deteriorating humanitarian situation and the violation of international humanitarian and human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, particularly in the east of the country. -
UNSC Resolution 1291
United Nations Security Council resolution 1291, adopted unanimously on 24 February 2000, after recalling resolutions 1234 (1999), 1258 (1999), 1273 (1999) and 1279 (1999) on situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Council expanded the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) to include additional tasks and extended its mandate until 31 August 2000. -
Laurent-Désiré Kabila Assassinated
On the afternoon of 16 January 2001 Kabila was shot by his bodyguard, Rashidi Muzele, who was killed as he attempted to flee the scene at Kabila's Palais de Marbre residence. According to a Rwandan former intelligence chief and allegations made by government officials, his assassination was committed by some of his bodyguards and masterminded by Rwanda. -
Joseph Kabila Kabange Appointed President
Joseph Kabila rose to the presidency on 26 January 2001 after the assassination of Laurent-Désiré Kabila, becoming the world's first head of government born in the 1970s. Aged 29, he was considered young and inexperienced. He subsequently attempted to end the ongoing civil war by negotiating peace agreements with rebel groups backed by Rwanda and Uganda, the same regional armies who had brought Laurent-Désiré Kabila's rebel group to power three years before. -
UNSC Resolution 1399
United Nations Security Council resolution 1399, adopted unanimously on 19 March 2002, after recalling all previous resolutions on situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Council condemned the capture of the town of Moliro and other activities by the rebel Rally for Congolese Democracy (RCD). -
Inter Congolese Dialogue Peace Pact Signed
RCD-Goma Chairman Adolphe Onusumba Yemba, signed a peace pact at the Inter Congolese Dialogue closing ceremony in Sun City, South Africa, Wednesday, April 2, 2003. The milestone pact in pursuit of peace and democracy in the war-torn Democtratic Republic of Congo (DRC) provides for the establishment of a two-year transitional government to guide the DRC to its first democratic elections in 40 years. -
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Kivu Conflict
The Kivu 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. -
Attempted Coup in Kinshasa
On 28 March 2004, an apparent coup attempt or mutiny around the capital Kinshasa, allegedly by members of the former guard of former president Mobutu Sese Seko (who had been ousted by Kabila's father in 1997 and died in the same year), failed. On 11 June 2004, coup plotters led by Major Eric Lenge allegedly attempted to take power and announced on state radio that the transitional government was suspended, but were defeated by loyalist troops. -
Kabila Elected President
According to widely disputed provisional results announced on 20 August, Kabila won 45% of the vote; vice-president and former rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba, won 20%. The irregularities surrounding the elections results led to a run-off vote between Kabila and Bemba, held on 29 October. On 15 November, the electoral commission announced the official results and Kabila was declared the winner, with 58.05%. Kabila was inaugurated on 6 December 2006 as the country's newly elected President. -
Mai-Mai and the mountain gorillas
In May 2007, Mai-Mai killed two wildlife officers in Virunga National Park and threatened to kill mountain gorillas if the government retaliated. The Mai-Mai are also suspected of the killings of nine mountain gorillas, with the use of machetes, and automatic weapons. -
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UPDF Engages ADF
During March 2007, the Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF) engaged incursive ADF groups in multiple firefights, killing at least 46 in Bundibugyo and Mubende districts. The biggest battle occurred on 27 March, when the UPDF faced an estimated 60 ADF troops and killed 34, including three senior commanders. The UPDF claimed to have retrieved numerous weapons as well as documents that tied the ADF to the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). -
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Nord-Kivu Campaign
The 2008 Nord-Kivu campaign was an armed conflict in the eastern Nord-Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The upsurge of violence in the Kivu conflict saw heavy battles between the Democratic Republic of Congo's army, supported by the United Nations, and Tutsi militia under General Laurent Nkunda. The fighting, which began on October 25, uprooted 250,000 civilians — bringing the total of people displaced by the Kivu conflict to more than 2 million. -
CNDP Signs Peace Treaty with DRC Government
On 23 March 2009, the National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP) signed a peace treaty with the DRC government, where it became a political party, and the M23 soldiers integrated into the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC). M23 takes its name from the date of these peace accords. The armed wing of the group is led by General Makenga Sultani, a former CNDP member. -
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Election Results Disputed
In December 2011, Kabila was re-elected for a second term as president. After the results were announced on 9 December, there was violent unrest in Kinshasa and Mbuji-Mayi, where official tallies showed that a strong majority had voted for the opposition candidate Etienne Tshisekedi.[19] Official observers from the Carter Center reported that returns from almost 2,000 polling stations in areas where support for Tshisekedi was strong had been lost and not included in the official results. -
M23 Formed
The M23 was formed on 4 April 2012 when nearly 300 soldiers - the majority of them former members of the National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP) - turned against the DRC government, citing poor conditions in the army and the government's unwillingness to implement the 23 March 2009 peace deal. General Bosco Ntaganda, also known as "The Terminator", was accused by the Government of Kinshasa of leading the group, and President Kabila called for his arrest on 11 April 2012. -
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ADF Resurgence
In April 2013, it was reported that ADF started a recruitment campaign in Kampala and other parts of the country. In July 2013, the ADF renewed its fighting in the Congolese district of Beni. In late September 2013, 3 people were killed and 30 abducted during an ADF attack in the Watalinga Sector, North Kivu, DRC. -
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Continued Fighting Against ADF
In January 2014, the FARDC launched a major offensive against ADF forces in Beni. By April, Mukulu and other senior leaders of the group fled their headquarters camp from approaching FARDC forces. October to December 2014 - 250 people were killed for which ADF was solely blamed by the DRC government and MONUSCO. December 2014 to January 2015 - Three Muslim clerics were killed by unknown assailants. Six alleged ADF members were arrested. -
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Continued ADF Action
March 30, 2015 - An Ugandan government spokesman had initially blamed ADF and then al-Shabaab for assassination of government prosecutor Joan Kagezi, without offering evidence in either case. April 2015, the ADF's leader, Jamil Mukulu, was arrested in Tanzania. November 2015, the number of attacks on Congolese forces continued, with weekly attacks of varying size taking place and killing more than 400 people in 2015. -
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Upsurge in Violence
The situation in the DRC became much worse in 2016 and 2017 and is a major moral and humanitarian challenge. Women and children are abused sexually and "abused in all possible manners". The armed groups are after gold, diamonds, oil, and cobalt to line the pockets of rich men both in the region and internationally. There are also ethnic and cultural rivalries at play, as well as religious motives and the political crisis with postponed elections. -
Beni Massacre
On 14 August 2016, multiple assailants raided the district of Rwangoma in the city of Beni which is located in North Kivu of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). At least 64 people were killed, as 64 bodies had been located during the search. The Ugandan rebel group Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) were suspected to be behind to attack by the DRC. The incident is another in a series of massacres in Beni that have left over 700 people dead since October 2014. -
Election Delayed
According to the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, President Kabila should not be allowed to serve more than two terms. On 19 September 2016, massive protests calling for him to step down as legally mandated rocked Kinshasa. Seventeen people were killed. According to the electoral commission's vice president, the commission "hasn't called elections in 2016 because the number of voters isn't known." -
UN & Congolese Soldiers Killed
On December 8, 2017, fourteen UN soldiers and five Congolese regular soldiers were killed in a rebel attack at Semuliki in Beni territory. The rebels were thought to be Allied Democratic Forces. -
Attacks in Virunga National Park
Six Virunga Park Rangers were reported to have been killed in Virunga National Park. Five rangers and a driver were killed in an ambush and a sixth ranger was injured in the Central section of the vast reserve on Monday April 9 2018. Officials suspected the attacks were by the Mai-Mai.