Bana Mura is an armed militant group active in the

Kasaï region The Kasai region is a region in the central southern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It shares its name with the Kasai River. After the independence of Congo in 1960, Kasai seceded for a while under influence of Belgium and became a ...

of the

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

. It mostly recruits ethnic Chokwe, Pende, and Tetela, and is supported by the Congolese government. According to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

, the group destroyed approximately 20 villages over the span of two months in 2017.

History

Zeid Raad Hussein of the

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, commonly known as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) or the United Nations Human Rights Office, is a department of the Secretariat of the United Nati ...

has stated that the group was created and armed by the Democratic Republic of Congo in order to counter the

Kamwina Nsapu rebellion The Kamwina Nsapu rebellion, also spelled Kamuina Nsapu rebellion, was an uprising that took place in the Democratic Republic of the Congo between 2016 and 2019. It was instigated by the Kamwina Nsapu militia against state security forces in the ...

. The group has been accused of committing numerous atrocities, including massacring civilians. The group has reportedly committed attacked civilians belonging to the

Luba Luba may refer to: Geography *Kingdom of Luba, a pre-colonial Central African empire * Ľubá, a village and municipality in the Nitra region of south-west Slovakia *Luba, Abra, a municipality in the Philippines *Luba, Equatorial Guinea, a town ...

and Lulua ethnic groups. Bana Mura members have also enslaved civilians, forcing them to work on their farms.

References

{{reflist Paramilitary organisations based in the Democratic Republic of the Congo