A Glossary of Rebels

One of the saddest and most disturbing facts I’ve learned during this two week trek across the Democratic Republic of Congo is how much rebel militia factions have taken advantage of the political instability of this country to savagely press their various agendas. Some are motivated by lust for gold, titanium and tantalum, amply found in the eastern provinces while others are no better than jungle thugs getting their latest revenge on neighboring tribes. As people shared story after story of recent atrocities, it took me a while to grasp just which rebel group was which. So here is just what you've wanted: a glossary of DRC rebel groups and their recent activities:

COBRA – Formerly a part of the old Zairian army, this group was later rejected by authorities and settled in the hills near the mission station of Nyankunde where raids have been conducted on neighboring villages. MAF pilots have seen their camps from the air.

New paved road through the jungle that is supposed to
reduce the threat of rebel activity.

M-23 – Staging their operations near the Rwandan border, this group is perhaps the largest and most well organized.  Thought to be secretly funded and equipped by Rwandan military, they recently captured the town of Rutchuru in a skirmish where 5000 government troops threw down their weapons and fled across the border to Uganda.

Nalu – Also working out of the jungle area near the Rwenzori Mountains, they have made raids on villages in the vicinity of Beni.

Morgan – Known by the name of its leader, this band of thugs in the deep Ituri forest were responsible just two weeks ago for savagely pillaging the Epulu Forest Station known for its research of the famous Okapi animals. Killing several guards and village people, they looted and burned the station and shot all of the Okapi being used for research.

LRA – The Lord’s Resistance Army now has several decades of infamy all across northeast Uganda, southern Sudan and northeast DRC.  Utilizing child soldiers they have kidnapped, the LRA has burned, pillaged and raped throughout the region.  Now even at the hint of their presence, people abandon their villages and gardens to seek security in larger towns.  As a result, there is a huge food shortage in the area.

Mai Mai – Meaning “Water, Water” this group was known first during the civil war in the 1960’s. Now the title has become the defacto name for any militia that uses witchcraft for personal protection. Believing that black magic will transform into water any bullet shot at them, they will charge well-armed troops with total abandon who, in turn, usually flee fearing the power of the magic themselves. A raid of a hospital in the Katanga province a week ago was the latest report of Mai Mai activities.

FARDC – You might wonder why the official Congo DRC army is on this list. Unfortunately, I’ve heard of multiple incidents where instead of protecting the population from wild militia groups, disgruntled and poorly-paid army members have actually allied themselves with rebel groups for their own advantage. Sadly, after the Morgan raid on Epulu mentioned above, the FARDC showed up almost on queue and finished the looting themselves taking all remaining equipment and destroying several other buildings.

The bottom line of all this is a country that truly feels like a Wild West where everyone does what they want and there is no rule of law let alone a national deterrent to such incredible expressions of evil. This is today’s normal context of the DRC. 

As I said above, disturbing and so very sad!