Uvira, 25 January 2013 – In order to encourage the communities of the Fizi territory in Sud Kivu to live together and develop their region, the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) and the Fizi and Itombwe frameworks for inter-community dialogue (CCI) jointly organized a sensitization workshop for local chiefs and leaders on safeguarding peace, security and peaceful coexistence.

Since the advent of the 23 March 2009 Movement (M23), there has been an increase in tension between the Bembe, Banyamulenge and Bafuliru communities living in this territory, under the guise of an alliance between some members or armed groups affiliated to these communities and the M23.

During the meeting which brought together almost all traditional leaders, administrative authorities and civil society representatives living in this locality, the 150 participants identified factors that laid the groundwork for division and disunity, inter-community conflicts and underdevelopment within the locality. The underlying causes of such conflicts include, in this case, the presence of armed groups, transhumance management and rivalries linked to customary power, not to mention the highly-coveted abundant natural resources.

After several days of discussion, participants made recommendations to the central government to empower local authorities to sensitize armed groups and to facilitate their integration into the national armed forces. They also called for the application or modification of laws relating to transhumance.

Already, in October and November 2011, following the assassination of a staff member of the NGO EBENEZER by suspected members of the Maï Maï Yakutumba group on the one hand, and the theft of cattle from the Banyamulenge community by the Maï Maï AOCHI on the other hand, a wave of violence ensued leading to the loss of human lives and considerable material damage.