IRIN Web Special on Ituri in Eastern DRC
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IRIN Web Special on Ituri in Eastern DRC

ITURI: Chronology of Key Events: 2 August 1998 - 14 December 2002
  1998  
2 August 1998 - RCD rebels launch armed rebellion against DRC PresidentLaurent-Desiré Kabila. Uganda and Rwanda back the rebels. The movement rapidly takes control of much of eastern DRC.
November 1998 - UPDF establish a base in Bunia.
November 1998 - Another rebel movement, the MLC, is formed in Equateur Province under Jean-Pierre Bemba with Ugandan backing.
   
  1999  
April 1999 - Ernest Wamba dia Wamba, the first president of the RCD, moves to Kisangani as the movement starts a series of splits.
May 1999 - UPDF Col Anthony Kyakabale appointed Bunia sector commander.
16 May 1999 - A new RCD (Goma faction) leader is named: Emile Ilunga. The Goma and Kisangani factions of the RCD are associated with Rwanda and Uganda respectively.
May 1999 - Written threats from Lendu chiefs from Pitsi demand that Hema ("visitors who are living here in these hills") in the Blukwa area should vacate the land, illustrating plans for premeditated "ethnic cleansing" motives in the earliest stages of the conflict.
June 1999 - First clashes between Lendu and Hema in the Djugu and Blukwa areas. Hema groups are allegedly backed by Ugandan forces. A grim cycle of attacks on villages, burning, looting and killing of civilians and subsequent retaliatory attacks continues until the present.
18 June 1999 - Adèle Lotsove, a Hema, appointed governor of Ituri and Haut-Uele (two districts in the vast Orientale Province) by Brig James Kazini of the UPDF. She is later widely criticised for inflaming the situation and partisan handling of subsequent peace talks.
June 1999 - Cholera outbreak in Bunia
5 July 1999 - Lotsove announces the formation of the "province" of Kibali-Ituri.
10 July 1999 - Lusaka ceasefire agreement signed in Zambia by the six states involved in the conflict. The rebel MLC signed on 1 August. RCD rebels sign later on 31 August.
6 August 1999 - UN Security Council authorises deployment of UN liaison personnel in support of the Lusaka agreement.
July - August 1999 - Local peace efforts, including the Catholic Church and rebel administration, assemble 450 delegates.
27-29 August 1999 - Rethy general hospital attacked by UPDF and Hema militia.
3 September 1999 - MSF reports outbreaks of measles, cholera and plague, especially among 40,000 displaced.
13 September 1999 - The Committee of Pacification formed under Lotsove concluded that for the Lendu security would require the replacement of some Ugandan soldiers, and the disarmament of Hema militia and traders. Hemas demanded the dispersal of "Lendu extremists who were hiding in the bush, training, and being drugged, to attack the Hema and undermine efforts of reconciliation".
14 September 1999 - Major attack by Lendu on Dhendro, a Hema village. 416 Hema reported killed.
18 September 1999 - Lendu and Alur community leaders sign a non-aggression pact in Rethy.
September 1999 - The RCD-Kisangani faction is renamed RCD-ML. Wamba is confirmed president with Bunia as his capital. Mbusa Nyamwisi and Jacques Depelchin named prime minister and local administration minister respectively.
September 1999 - Fighting reported between different units of UPDF at Kwandruma.
18 October 1999 - "Province" of Ituri announced - splitting off the Haut-Uele district.
October 1999 - A UN assessment mission declares the situation "catastrophic", estimating over 100,000 IDPs and scores of villages burned to the ground. Estimates of deaths ranged from 5,000 to 7,000.
October 1999 - RCD-ML appointed Depelchin to chair a Commission for Security and Peace.
21 October 1999 - First mission of UN liaison personnel to Bunia.
November 1999 - Divisions between Wamba and Nyamwisi become more serious. Nyamwisi takes control of Beni.
30 November 1999 - UN Security Council resolution 1279 establishes MONUC.
1 December 1999 - Killings of Lendu at Bambou - 300 deaths reported.
13 December 1999 - Up to 150,000 people displaced by fighting in Ituri, according to ICRC.
December 1999 - Kyakabale of the UPDF dismissed for "hiring out soldiers to Hema leaders", according to Wamba. Replaced by UDPF Col Arosha.
16 December 1999 - Wamba dismisses Lotsove. Replaces with Ernest Urungi Padolo, an Alur.
20 December 1999 - The Depelchin commission publishes report and a draft treaty for the region.
December 1999 - The DRC human rights organisation, ASADHO, in a report on Ituri, accuses Kyakabale of massive human rights violations.
December 1999 - Former president of Botswana, Ketumile Masire, appointed to serve as facilitator of the ICD provided for in the Lusaka agreement.
   
  2000
January 2000 - MSF reports 180,000 IDPs. Humanitarian organisations attempt to gear up in a period of relative calm. A nutritional survey indicates 9.1 percent acute malnutrition.
24 January 2000 - MONUC announces first phase of deployment of liaison officers to Bunia.
27 January 2000 - A graphic video released by CBM brings brief international attention to the crisis. The amateur tape includes images of children being treated for deep machete wounds on the face and neck, amputees, spear and arrow injuries, corpses, mass graves, IDP encampments and burning villages.
29 January 2000 - MSF-H suspends all operations in Ituri. "There has been growing distrust among the population towards MSF with regard to MSF's neutrality. This led to a violent attack on an MSF team," a statement said.
February 2000 - A report by the DRC human rights group, ASADHO, says the conflict was sparked off in April 1999 when Hema landowner evicted Lendu farmers from land adjoining his, with the support of the RCD-ML and Ugandan authorities. ASADHO claims that Ugandan soldiers were actively involved in the killing of Lendus.
February 2000 - Uganda defends actions in Ituri, saying in a statement that it intends to "bolster both the RCD forces and the Ugandan forces to restore law and order, disarm the protagonists and curtail the inflow of arms".
24 February 2000 - UN Security Council expands MONUC in resolution 1291.
March 2000 - Wamba accuses UPDF commander Arosha of arrogance and partiality to the Hema.
March 2000 - MONUC deploys liaison officers to Bunia.
24 March 2000 - Inter-agency assessment mission finds humanitarian situation "close to catastrophic".
April 2000 - Serious splits emerge between senior officials in the RCD-ML. Jean-Baptiste Tibasima and Nyamwisi attempt to oust Wamba. The three temporarily patched up differences in Kampala.
April 2000 - Ugandan authorities recalled Arosha in April 2000 and named Col Charles Angina to replace him.
4-10 June 2000 - Heavy fighting between Ugandan and Rwandan forces in Kisangani.
27 June 2000 - Fighting between Wamba and Tibasima militia.
July 2000 - Wamba says the Hema-Lendu ethnic conflict in Ituri district "is behind us".
14 August 2000 - Wamba attempts to sack RCD-ML rivals Tibasima and Nyamwisi.
August 2000 - An upsurge in clashes is reported.
5 November 2000 - UDPF again appoint new sector commander - replacing Angina with Col Edson Muzoora.
20 November 2000 - Divisions in RCD-ML come to a head. Nyamwisi and Tibasima remove Wamba from power in the "November Putsch". Uganda appears to give up protecting Wamba. Splits in the RCD-ML meanwhile produce several militia and two new factions: RCD-ML dissident Roger Lumbala started a movement called RCD-Nationale, and in Beni, the governor, Bwanakawa Nyonyi, set up the short-lived RCD-Populaire.
   
  2001
6 January 2001 - Lendu-Ngiti militia attack Nyankunde town. Population disperses. UDPF and Hema militia respond. The attack led to reports of a coalition between former Zairean soldiers (ex-FAZ), Mayi-Mayi militiamen and Lendu fighters who previously had only spears and machetes as weapons. Clashes continue in January, killing some 250 and displacing thousands.
January 2001 - The RCD-ML power struggle results in Governor Uringi and Depelchin being expelled from Bunia during the month. Wamba remains in Kampala.
15 January 2001 - At least 3,500 mainly Hema people seek refuge over the border in Uganda.
16 January 2001- DRC President Laurent-Desiré Kabila is shot dead. Joseph Kabila steps into his father's shoes.
19-21 January 2001- Lendu-Ngiti militia attack Ugandan positions near Bunia airport. Extreme violence erupts in Bunia town. UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in the DRC Roberto Garreton reports that the Ugandan army "incited Hema militiamen to carry out reprisals and pursue the Lendu and Ngiti militias". The ICRC later reports that the local Red Cross buried more than 200 people.
16 January 2001 - A new rebel alliance, the FLC, is formed, after weeks of talks in Kampala. It combines Bemba's MLC and RCD-ML, as well as Lumbala's RCD-National. Bemba is to lead the group while Nyamwisi is named vice-president and Tibasima is mines and energy minister. Wamba rejects the deal.
February 2001 - A major peace meeting is held. A peace pact is signed between Hema and Lendu community leaders. Bemba, now the most senior rebel leader in the region, states: "The militia will have to be disarmed and dispersed." A follow-up commission is to monitor and move the process forward.
20 February 2001 - UN estimates 140,000 displaced in Ituri.
27 February 2001 - Dual Hema and Lendu deputy governors are appointed by the FLC.
March 2001 - Human Rights Watch publishes 50-page report entitled Uganda in Eastern DRC: Fuelling Political and Ethnic Strife, alleging that Ugandan soldiers had involved themselves in the conflict and "have blatantly exploited Congolese wealth for their own benefit and that of their superiors at home".
29 March 2001 - Bemba announces an accord reached with the Mayi-Mayi militia and arrangements for the demobilisation of Uganda rebels of ADF and NALU.
12 April 2001 - UN Panel of Experts publishes first report on exploitation of resources in DRC, concluding that the governments of Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi were profiting from the conflict by looting gold and other precious minerals, diamonds, timber, ivory and tax revenues.
26 April 2001 - Six ICRC workers - four Congolese, one Colombian and one Swiss - were killed on the road between Djugu and Fataki. All international humanitarian agencies halt activities.
9 May 2001 - Col Mohammed Buli Bangolo, from Equateur, appointed governor of Ituri by FLC.
4 June 2001 - Fighting between Bemba and Nyamwisi's troops in Beni. Nyamwisi's forces appear to win. The FLC starts to disintegrate, and Nyamwisi and Bemba part company by August, dividing territory into spheres of influence in August. The Nyamwisi faction becomes known as RCD-Kisangani-ML, as Wamba continues to claim legitimacy as leader of the original RCD-ML.
11 June 2001 - Uganda establishes a judicial commission of inquiry, which later becomes known as the Porter Commission, into allegations of exploitation in the DRC.
27 June 2001 - Humanitarian agencies restart work.
27 June 2001 - Nymawisi and the RCD-National of Lumbala announce an alliance. Lumbala is named as part of Nyamwisi's delegation to the ICD, but remains allied to Bemba.
July 2001 - The UPC formed with Thomas Lubanga as leader. Lotsove is reportedly a co-founder. The party only comes to prominence a year later.
18 August 2001 - Wamba's rump faction of the RCD-ML ally themselves with Bemba's alliance, the FLC, possibly to secure participation at the upcoming ICD.
20-24 August 2001 - Preparatory meeting for the ICD held in Botswana.
21-24 August 2001 - Bloody clashes between Bira and Ngiti communities.
15 October 2001 - First, abortive, meeting of the ICD in Addis Ababa.
November 2001 - New UPDF commander: Col Freddy Segamwenge.
10 November 2001 - Attacks on Bira villages carried out by an alliance between Ugandan ADF rebels and Ngiti fighters.
11 November 2001 - The RCD-K-ML sets up as a separate party under Nyamwisi with Tibasima as vice-president.
21 November 2001 - Bemba's MLC withdraws troops from Bunia, citing "confusion" in the RCD-ML and RCD-K-ML.
December 2001 - The RCD-K-ML attempts to broaden its base by including Thomas Lubanga as minister of defence and bringing back Wamba and Uringi.
December 2001 - New governor of Orientale Province appointed - Joseph Eneku, from Aru.
   
  2002
January 2002 - Bemba and Lumbala make territorial gains against the RCD-K-ML, taking Isiro, Watsa and Bafwasende
January 2002 - Clashes reported for the first time between Alur and Lendu in Nioka, to the north of Bunia. Ugandan media report 50 deaths. The Alur and Lendu had previously been regarded as not hostile.
1 February 2002 - Ugandan Defence Minister Amama Mbabazi remarked that the situation in Bunia was explosive and called on the UN to send troops to take control of the area.
February 2002 - A new governor of Ituri appointed by Nyamwisi: Jean-Pierre Mulondo Lonpondo from Kasai. Lubanga becomes sidelined from the military control of the RCD-K-ML.
19 April 2002 - ICD Sun City peace meetings adjourn after reaching wide agreement, but defer key terms on power-sharing. Both Wamba and Nyamwisi attend as RCD-ML. Lubanga starts to split from RCD-K-ML.
19 May 2002 - Delegation from Kinshasa visits Ituri, including interior minister and human rights minister. Human Rights Minister Ntumba Lwamba said three years of fighting had led to 20,000 deaths.
May 2002 - Humanitarian agencies estimate 500,000 people are displaced in Ituri.
12 June 2002 - Former prime minister of Senegal, Moustapha Niasse, appointed UN Special Envoy to help push the ICD forward.
7 June 2002 - Lendu militia attack Hema militia training camp at Mandro and claim to have killed Rwandan trainers.
10 June 2002 - Heritage Oil Corporation announces it has signed an agreement with the DRC government to explore oil opportunities in a vast 3.1 ha swathe of northeastern DRC including eastern Ituri.
13 June 2002 - Lubanga and others arrested while on mission to Kinshasa.
early July - Scores of people have died in fighting in Bunia between the RCD-K-ML and a militia supporting Lubanga. UPDF allegedly back Lubanga.
30 July 2002 - Peace accord between Rwanda and DRC signed in Pretoria.
6-9 August 2002 - Bloody fighting in Bunia. Hema militias, supported by the UPDF and the UPC, attack an RCD-K-ML training camp holding mainly Lendu and Ngiti recruits, and seize control of the town. Both sides perpetrate widespread killings of civilians. MONUC reports 110 deaths in the fighting.
29 August - 1 September - Kinshasa Human Rights Minister Ntumba Lwamba, accompanied by Lubanga, visits Bunia to bolster peace talks under way in Kinshasa. He is taken hostage by Chief Kahwa in Mandro. The kidnapping was resolved with the release of Lubanga from Kinshasa's custody. Community leaders at the Kinshasa peace talks demand the departure of the Ugandans and their replacement by a police force. Ntumba Lwamba alleges Rwanda is moving forces into Ituri in preparation for the departure of the UPDF.
3 September 2002 - Lubanga named as UPC president, Lotsove as finance minister, Jean-Baptiste Dhetchuvi as foreign minister and Eneku as governor.
6 September 2002 - Luanda accord signed between Uganda and DRC. A 100-day timetable is set for UPDF withdrawal after the establishment of an Ituri Pacification Committee.
5 September 2002 - APC and Ngiti militia attack Nyankunde, about 20 km west of Bunia. The attackers killed mainly Hema ethnic group and others said to have collaborated with them. They killed patients in their hospital beds, medical personnel of the Nyankunde hospital. About 200 were killed in this attack and another several weeks earlier carried out by the UPC against RCD-K-ML supporters and the Ngiti.
15 October - The second UN report on the illegal exploitation of DRC's resources adds more damning accusations against Uganda and the "elite networks" behind the plunder. The UPDF "continue to provoke ethnic conflict" for economic gain, particularly in Ituri", the panel reported.
17 October 2002 - Amnesty International, in an open letter to the UN Security Council, warns that "deliberate incitement could lead to the possibility of genocide" in Ituri.
October 2002 - Humanitarian agencies encounter difficulties in securing flight permissions to land in Bunia. Relations between the UPC, which controls Bunia, and humanitarian agencies remain strained.
31 October 2002 - Human Rights Watch urges the UN to increase MONUC forces to protect civilians against slaughter in eastern DRC, including Ituri.
November 2002 - Cholera epidemic in Bunia kills 12.
22 November 2002 - Orientale governor (and former Ituri governor), Joseph Eneku, killed in an ambush 20 km from Mahagi.
November 2002 - Progress on the Ituri Pacification Committee has been stalled due to the insistence of Lubanga that Ituri be recognised as a province, not a district. Kinshasa refuses.
5 December 2002 - Lubanga provides security guarantees for the NGOs working in the region, MONUC reports. This followed continuing difficulties for NGOs operating in the area and the expulsion of the UN OCHA's representative in Bunia.
17 December 2002 - Comprehensive peace deal signed at ICD talks in Pretoria.
   

[Ends]

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