Land Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the context of "Joseph Kabila"

Laurent Nkunda Mihigo (born Laurent Nkundabatware; February 2, 1967) is a Congolese former military officer and warlord who operated in the North Kivu Province during the Kivu conflict.

Nkunda, who is a Congolese Tutsi, initially fought as a rebel fighter in the Rwandan Civil War alongside the forces of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) against the genocidal Hutu-led government in Rwanda. In 1996, he returned to the Congo and joined Laurent Kabila's AFDL forces during the First Congo War. However, he later rebelled against Kabila's government and joined the rebellion led by Rwandan-aligned rebels during the Second Congo War. Following the end of the Second Congo War, he was integrated into the Congolese Army in 2003 but would again later rebel against the government, marking the beginning of the Kivu conflict.

The Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (French: Forces armées de la république démocratique du Congo, FARDC) are the national military forces responsible for defending the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The modern Congolese army descends from the Force Publique (1885–1960) of the Congo Free State and Belgian Congo and has undergone multiple reorganizations and name changes since independence, including the Armée nationale congolaise (ANC) following independence, the Forces armées zaïroises (FAZ) during the Zaire period, and the Forces armées congolaises (FAC) under Laurent-Désiré Kabila, before adopting its current designation as the FARDC.

The FARDC was rebuilt in a fragmented and uneven manner following the end of the Second Congo War in July 2003, as part of the broader peace process that sought to integrate former government troops, rebel movements, and militia groups into a unified national army. Its legal foundation was initially established under the Transitional Constitution, notably articles 118 and 188, and later superseded by the 2006 Constitution, particularly articles 187 to 192. The overall framework for national defense and the armed forces was further outlined in Law No. 04/023 of 12 November 2004, and subsequently clarified by Organic Law No. 11-012 of August 2011, which regulates the organization, command, and use of the FARDC. The armed forces is composed predominantly of land forces, alongside a small air force and an even smaller naval component, while the country also maintains a separate presidential force known as the Republican Guard and an independently operating Congolese National Police (PNC), neither of which is formally part of the armed forces. Militarily, the country is divided into three major defense zones encompassing the entire national territory, supported by military regions, bases, and specialized air and naval groupings. Since 2014, these forces have operated under three regional combatant commands corresponding to the western, south-central, and eastern regions of the country.

The Congolese National Police (French: Police nationale congolaise, PNC) is the national police force of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The national police consists of 110,000–150,000 officers and operates on the provincial level, answering to the Interior Ministry. It has gained notoriety in the Congo for corruption, repression of political dissidents, and other human rights abuses. It is currently undergoing reforms, and a police academy is being built.

The current Police Commissioner General is Dieudonne Amuli Bahigwa, a former Congolese army officer who replaced Charles Bisengimana in July 2017.