Bibogobogo Explained

Bibogobogo
Official Name:Village Bibogobogo
Other Name:Bibokoboko
Settlement Type:Village
Pushpin Map:Democratic Republic of the Congo
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Type1:Province
Subdivision Name1:South Kivu
Subdivision Type2:Territory
Subdivision Name2:Fizi
Subdivision Type3:Sector
Subdivision Name3:Mutambala

Bibogobogo, alternatively referred to as Bibokoboko in Kibembe, is a village in the middle plateaus of the Mutambala Sector in the Fizi Territory in the South Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It is situated in the forested mountains and middle plateaus, overlooking Baraka in the south-west, near Kisombe and Bibokoboko II villages.[1] [2] [3] Geographically, Bibogobogo shares its boundaries with Uvira Territory to the north, Mwenga and Shabunda Territories to the west, Kalemie Territory to the south, and Lake Tanganyika to the east.[4] [5]

The region's soil is geologically replete with various metals, including sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, aluminum, and mercury, making it suitable for gold plating, mercury-related pollution studies, pollution indexing, and agricultural activities. Despite its abundant forest biodiversity, the region is mired in poverty and plagued by insecurity, stymieing any efforts towards sustainable development. The persistent ethnic conflicts in the area profoundly impact the diverse communities, which include the Babembe, Bafuliiru, Babwari, Babuyu, Banyindu, Balega (Warega), Bamushi, and Banyamulenge.[6] [7]

History

Historically, the area was predominantly inhabited by the Bembe and Buyu peoples, Bantu ethnic groups residing along the shores of Lake Tanganyika and within the Fizi Territory.[8] [9] The region is also home to several other ethnic groups closely intertwined with the Bembe, including the Babwari, Nyindu, Barega, Bagoma, Basanze, Bazoba, and Fuliiru.[10] [11] [12] In the mid-20th-century, in the Belgian Congo, Banyarwanda migrants from Rwanda dispersed in the area in search of greener pastures.[13] [14] The village also provided refuge to immigrants from Burundi during the Great Calamity of 1972 and the subsequent displacement of Burundians in 1976–1977.[15] [16]

In September 1996, at the onset of the First Congo War, escalating insecurity in the territories of Fizi, Uvira, and Mwenga, driven by the insurgencies of Tutsi/Banyamulenge armed factions, prompted the Forces Armées Zaïroises (FAZ) to launch multiple operations against various armed groups and militias within the North and South Kivu Provinces.[17] [18] During these military campaigns, the FAZ perpetrated numerous atrocities against Banyamulenge. Reports from the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) indicate that the Banyamulenge residents of Bibogobogo village were subjected to mass manumilatari arrests by FAZ soldiers. Over 700 individuals were detained and transported to Baraka prison, where men, women, and children were confined in separate sheds and accused of collaborating with Banyamulenge/Tutsi-infiltrated armed units.

Insecurity problems

Following nearly three decades of violence, Bibogobogo still suffered significant insecurity issues.[19] Persistent armed conflict, massive population displacement, non-existent infrastructure, and widespread deterioration of productive assets have severely impacted food security in Bibogobogo. Recurring warfare and ethnic tensions further exacerbate the prevailing sense of insecurity in both the northern and southern sectors of the village.[20] [21]

Recent clashes in Bibogobogo have seen the Twiganeho-Makanika militia, primarily composed of Banyamulenge combatants, pitted against the Mai-Mai Mutetezi, predominantly consisting of Babembe fighters. Colonel Michel Rukundo Makanika, an army deserter, leads the Twigwaneho-Makanika faction. This group, along with a contingent of Banyamulenge soldiers, has established itself as an insurgent entity, staunchly defending the interests of the Banyamulenge people in the rugged Fizi highlands of South Kivu.[22] [23] [24] [25] The Mai-Mai of Ebuela Mtetezi, on the other hand, comprises Bembe commanders who previously led their factions.[26] In February 2010, at least five instances of armed attacks were reported along the route from Baraka to Bibogobogo, involving operatives from both the Mai-Mai and Banyamulenge rebel groups.[27] Armed assaults resurfaced in June 2020, leading to the distressing displacement of approximately 1,500 families of internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Fizi, leaving them in an extremely precarious predicament.[28]

2021 Incident

On October 15, 2021, Mai-Mai Mutetezi and Mai-Mai Biloze Bishambuke attacked Twiganeho-Makanika, who shelled their strongholds from the villages of Mugorore, Mugono, Bivumu, and Bibogobogo in the vast expanse of Fizi Territory. The Mai-Mai Mutetezi and the Bilozi Bishambuke captured 40 Twiganeho, as well as looting the village, absconding with a substantial herd of a hundred bovines, and ruthlessly claiming the lives of the locals.[29] [30] [31] In addition, Mai-Mai Biloze Bishambuke and Mai-Mai Mutetezi claim to have attacked the villages of Bibogobogo to stifle the ambition of the Ngumino/Twigwaneho to extend their strongholds to other entities in the middle plateaus and the coast during the deployment of the FARDC (Forces Armées de la République Démocratique du Congo). However, the Twiganeho militiamen deny these allegations, instead asserting that the Mai-Mai attacks are motivated by a sinister agenda of "ethnic cleansing."[32] Contrary to this claim, Dieudonne Kasereka, the spokesperson for the army in South Kivu Province, maintains that these are not acts of "ethnic cleansing," but rather confrontations between the Twiganeho and Mai-Mai combatants.

Kasereka stated:

"It is the armed groups of the Mai-Mai Biloze Bishambuke against the Twigwaneho who are fighting in the Maguga village near Bibokoboko. These armed groups began their hostilities since the morning of this Wednesday. We learn that some villages have been burned on both sides, on the Biloze side and on the Twigwaneho side. The FARDC strongly condemn this action. We have dispatched the soldiers who are on their way to try to track down these outlaws who continue to sow desolation among the population".[33]
Since November 2021, armed groups have intensified attacks in Bibokoboko. As a result, more than a thousand displaced people fled to Baraka in November 2021. However, the displaced returned to their environment in late December 2021 after establishing a temporary base for the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) in the region.[34] [35] [36]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Carte topographique Bibogobogo, altitude, relief . 2023-04-29 . Cartes topographiques . fr.
  2. Web site: 16 February 2022 . Sud-Kivu: 16 morts à Bibogobogo lors des combats entre l'armée et les miliciens Maï-Maï (FARDC) . South Kivu: 16 dead in Bibogobogo during fighting between the army and the Mai-Mai militia (FARDC) . 29 April 2023 . Radio Okapi . fr.
  3. Web site: 8 March 2022 . Sud-Kivu: les communautés de Mutambala et de Baraka appelées à la cohésion . South Kivu: the communities of Mutambala and Baraka called for cohesion . 29 April 2023 . Radio Okapi . fr.
  4. Web site: January 27, 2011 . History of Fizi: Fizi consciousness . June 5, 2023 . Vision for Development of Fizi (VIDEFI) . en.
  5. Book: Munyaas, Wa Nyasa . Territoire de Fizi-Kalembelembe: Défis et développement . August 16, 2016 . Editions Persée . 9782823110906 . Boulogne-Billancourt, Paris, France . French.
  6. Web site: Lavoix . Lubunga . 8 October 2021 . RDC: après l'offensive de l'armée dans les hauts plateaux, les miliciens du colonel déserteur Makanika signalés dans les moyens plateaux de Fizi . DRC: after the army offensive in the high plateaus, the militiamen of deserter Colonel Makanika reported in the middle plateaus of Fizi . 29 April 2023 . Actualite.cd . fr . Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
  7. Web site: 8 March 2022 . Sud-Kivu: les communautés de Mutambala et de Baraka appelées à la cohésion . South Kivu: the communities of Mutambala and Baraka called for cohesion . 29 April 2023 . Radio Okapi . fr.
  8. Book: Muchukiwa, Bosco . Pouvoirs locaux et contestations populaires dans le territoire d'UVIRA au Sud Kivu de 1961 à 2004 . 2004 . Institut de Politique et de Gestion du Développent, Anvers . 19–21 . French.
  9. Web site: Jean-Luc Vellut . Wilungula B. Cosma . 1997 . Fizi 1967 - 1986: Le Maquis Kabila . 11 March 2023 . Institut Africain CEDAF.
  10. Web site: Cosma . Wilungula B. . Vellut . Jean-Luc . 1997 . Fizi 1967-1986: le maquis Kabila . 2023-04-29 . Institut Africain CEDAF . French . Tervuren, Belgium.
  11. Web site: Moeller . Alfred . 1936 . Les grandes lignes des migrations des Bantus de la province orientale du Congo belge . 2023-04-29 . G. van Campenhout . French . Brussels, Belgium.
  12. Web site: Rukakiza . Bosco Muchukiwa . 2016 . Identités territoriales et conflits dans la province du Sud-Kivu, R. D. Congo . Territorial identities and conflicts in the province of South Kivu, DR Congo . 30 June 2024 . Liferay.globethics.net . Globethics.net . 14–15 . fr . Geneva, Switzerland . 978-2-88931-112-5.
  13. Book: Kapapi, John . Lies of the Tutsi in Eastern Congo/Zaire: A Case Study: South Kivu (Pre-Colonial to 2018) . March 28, 2019 . 9781796022896 . Bloomington, Indiana . English.
  14. Book: Muchukiwa, Bosco . Enjeux des conflits ethniques dans les hauts plateaux d'Itombwe au Sud - Kivu (Zaïre) . Institut Africain CEDAF . Tervuren, Belgium . 6–7 . French.
  15. Book: Kapapi, John . Lies of the Tutsi in Eastern Congo/Zaire: A Case Study: South Kivu (Pre-Colonial to 2018) . March 28, 2019 . 9781796022896 . Bloomington, Indiana . 62–63 . English.
  16. Book: Christensen, Hanne . Refugees and Pioneers: History and Field Study of a Burundian Settlement in Tanzania . University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign . 1985 . 75 . English.
  17. Web site: August 2010 . Report of the Mapping Exercise documenting the most serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law committed within the territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo between March 1993 and June 2003 . 2023-04-29 . 163 . English.
  18. Web site: August 2010 . Report of the Mapping Exercise documenting the most serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law committed within the territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo between March 1993 and June 2003 . 83–84 . English.
  19. Web site: Lavoix . Lubunga . 8 October 2021 . RDC: après l'offensive de l'armée dans les hauts plateaux, les miliciens du colonel déserteur Makanika signalés dans les moyens plateaux de Fizi . DRC: after the army offensive in the highlands, the militiamen of the deserting Colonel Makanika reported in the middle plateaus of Fizi . 29 April 2023 . Actualite.cd . fr.
  20. Web site: Etahoben . Chief Bisong . 4 June 2022 . 2 IDPs Die In DR Congo Bibokoboko Village Attack . 30 April 2023 . HumAngle . en-US.
  21. Web site: PrunelleRDC . La . 30 October 2021 . Baraka: les déplacés de Bibokoboko décident de rentrer chez-eux . Baraka: Displaced people from Bibokoboko decide to return home . 30 April 2023 . La PrunelleRDC . fr-FR.
  22. Web site: Fides . Agenzia . 30 August 2022 . AFRICA/DR CONGO - Appeal to save the life of a human rights activist threatened with death - Agenzia Fides . 30 April 2023 . www.fides.org.
  23. Web site: 5 January 2022 . DR Congo Army Says 18 Militiamen Killed . 28 June 2024 . Voice of America . en.
  24. Web site: Presse . AFP-Agence France . 19 August 2021 . DRCongo Army Says It Has Taken Strongholds Of Rebel Coalition . 28 June 2024 . Barrons.com . en-US.
  25. Web site: 5 January 2022 . 18 militiamen killed in DR Congo fighting: army . 28 June 2024 . Space Daily.
  26. Web site: April 2022 . Democratic Republic of the Congo: The Situation of the Banyamulenge (2020 to March 2022) . 28 June 2024 . Ecoi.net/en . 12–13.
  27. Web site: 20 February 2014 . Sud-Kivu: 5 agressions armées en un mois sur la route Baraka – Bibokoboko à Fizi . South Kivu: 5 armed attacks in one month on the Baraka – Bibokoboko road in Fizi . 30 April 2023 . Radio Okapi . fr.
  28. Web site: Lubunga la Voix . 8 June 2020 . Sud-Kivu: près de 1500 familles des déplacés de Fizi en situation difficile, la société civile sollicite l'aide du gouvernement et des humanitaires . South Kivu: nearly 1,500 displaced families from Fizi in difficult situation, civil society seeks help from government and humanitarians . 30 April 2023 . Actualite.cd . fr.
  29. Web site: 25 October 2021 . RDC-Fizi: une cinquantaine d'otages des miliciens Mai-Mai libérés sont arrivés à Baraka . DRC-Fizi: Around fifty hostages of the freed Mai-Mai militias have arrived in Baraka . 30 April 2023 . Actualite.cd . fr.
  30. Web site: 21 October 2021 . RDC-Baraka: les autorités ont des difficultés à gérer les déplacés fuyant les affrontements armés dans les moyens plateaux de Fizi, "certains ne veulent pas cohabiter" . DRC-Baraka: the authorities have difficulty managing displaced people fleeing armed clashes in the middle plateaus of Fizi, "some do not want to cohabit" . 30 April 2023 . Actualite.cd . fr.
  31. Web site: 16 October 2021 . RDC: afflux des déplacés à Baraka fuyant des affrontements armés dans les hauts et moyens plateaux de Fizi . DRC: Influx of displaced people in Baraka fleeing armed clashes in the high and middle plateaus of Fizi . 30 April 2023 . Actualite.cd . fr.
  32. Web site: 15 October 2021 . Sud-Kivu: des villages de Bibokoboko occupés par des Maï-Maï Biloze Bishambuke et Yakutumba . South Kivu: Bibokoboko villages occupied by Mai-Mai Biloze Bishambuke and Yakutumba . 30 April 2023 . Radio Okapi . fr.
  33. Web site: 14 October 2021 . RDC: trois morts et des villages incendiés lors des attaques des miliciens dans les moyens plateaux de Fizi . DRC: three dead and villages burned during attacks by militiamen in the middle plateaus of Fizi . 30 April 2023 . Actualite.cd . fr.
  34. Web site: 20 October 2021 . Sud-Kivu: près de 7,000 déplacés internes recensés à Baraka et ses environs . South Kivu: nearly 7,000 internally displaced persons identified in Baraka and its surroundings . 30 April 2023 . Radio Okapi . fr.
  35. Web site: 3 November 2021 . Sud-Kivu: 2 000 déplacés internes de Mushimbakye regagnent leur village . South Kivu: 2,000 internally displaced people from Mushimbakye return to their village . 30 April 2023 . Radio Okapi . fr.
  36. Web site: 5 November 2021 . Sud-Kivu: 300 déplacés internes hébergés à Lusenda, retournent à Bibokoboko . South Kivu: 300 internally displaced persons housed in Lusenda, return to Bibokoboko . 30 April 2023 . Radio Okapi . fr.

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