The Kivu conflict is an umbrella term for a series of protracted armed conflicts in the North Kivu and South Kivu provinces in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo which have occurred since the end of the Second Congo War. Including neighboring Ituri province, there are more than 120 different armed groups active in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Currently, some of the most active rebel groups include the Allied Democratic Forces, the Cooperative for the Development of the Congo, the March 23 Movement, and many local Mai Mai militias. In addition to armed groups and the governmental FARDC troops, a number of national, regional and international forces have intervened militarily in the conflict, including the United Nations force known as MONUSCO, the militaries of Uganda and Burundi, and a force from the East African Community known as the East African Community Regional Force. The Kivu region is thus regarded as a key geopolitical arena, where local armed groups intersect with broader regional rivalries and international strategic interests. Analysts note that competition over natural resources, cross-border alliances, and external interventions have transformed the conflict from a purely domestic issue into a wider geopolitical struggle.
The 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. It has broadly consisted of three phases, the third of which is an ongoing conflict. Prior to March 2009, the main combatant group against the FARDC was the National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP). Following the cessation of hostilities between these two forces, rebel Tutsi forces, formerly under the command of Laurent Nkunda, became the dominant opposition to the government forces.
