The Alliance of Patriots for a Free and Sovereign Congo (french: Alliance des patriotes pour un Congo libre et souverain, known by the acronym APCLS) is an armed militia group which operates in the north-east of the

Democratic Republic of the 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 ...

. APCLS is traditionally active in Masisi Territory,

North Kivu North Kivu (french: link=no, Nord-Kivu) is a province bordering Lake Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its capital is Goma. North Kivu borders the provinces of Ituri to the north, Tshopo to the northwest, Maniema to the ...

and is considered one of the largest ''

mai-mai The term Mai-Mai or Mayi-Mayi refers to any kind of community-based militia group active in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that is formed to defend local communities and territory against other armed groups. Most were formed to resis ...

'' (local or ethnic militia) groups operating in the province. Formed in 2006, the APCLS draws most of its support from the Hunde ethnic group. Its ideology is founded on opposition to the Tutsi ethnic groups who are believed to threaten the integrity of the Congolese state and to be supported, in particular, by Rwanda. The APCLS is a belligerent in the ongoing Kivu conflict and is led by Janvier Buingo Karairi, known as General Janvier.

History

The APCLS was formed as part of the Resisting Congolese Patriots (''Patriotes Résistants Congolais'', or PARECO) group in 2006 and was originally known as PARECO-Hunde. The group split from PARECO in 2008 after the Goma Accords. The militia counts around 1,500 men and is funded by the profits from

artisanal mining An artisanal miner or small-scale miner (ASM) is a subsistence miner who is not officially employed by a mining company, but works independently, mining minerals using their own resources, usually by hand. Small-scale mining includes enterprises ...

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

and cassiterite, as well through the support of wealthy members of the Hunde ethnic group. In the past, the group has co-operated with the

Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda The Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (french: Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda, FDLR) is an armed rebel group active in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. As an ethnic Hutu group opposed to the ethnic Tut ...

(''Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda'', FDLR), a

Hutu The Hutu (), also known as the Abahutu, are a Bantu ethnic or social group which is native to the African Great Lakes region. They mainly live in Rwanda, Burundi and the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, where they form one of the pr ...

Interahamwe The Interahamwe ( or ) is a Hutu paramilitary organization active in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. The Interahamwe was formed around 1990 as the youth wing of the National Republican Movement for Democracy and Development (M ...

'' rebel group from neighbouring Rwanda. During the

M23 rebellion The M23 rebellion was an armed conflict in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), that occurred between the March 23 Movement and government forces. The rebellion was part of continued fighting in the region after the formal end o ...

(2012-13), the APCLS co-operated with Congolese government forces to suppress the largely-Tutsi

March 23 Movement The March 23 Movement (french: Mouvement du 23 mars), often abbreviated as M23 and also known as the Congolese Revolutionary Army (''Armée révolutionnaire du Congo''), is a rebel military group that is for the most part formed of ethnic Tutsi. ...

. Sporadic fighting between government forces, backed by 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 harmonizi ...

MONUSCO The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or MONUSCO, an acronym based on its French name , is a United Nations peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) which was estab ...

peacekeeping mission, and APCLS continued for several years. In March 2015, government forces launched a major offensive against the APCLS in Masisi Territory. In August 2016, the APCLS, together with another militia, the Mai-Mai Nyatura, a Hutu group active in the same region, announced that they would sign a peace agreement with the central government. By January 2023, the APCLS was fighting alongside the Congolese government forces against the M23 Movement's revived offensive in North Kivu.

Citations

{{reflist, 2

External links

Local Voices – Between Army and Militias: A Volatile Balance
at

Search for Common Ground Searching or search may refer to: Computing technology * Search algorithm, including keyword search ** :Search algorithms * Search and optimization for problem solving in artificial intelligence * Search engine technology, software for findi ...

Armed Militias in Masisi: A Case Study of the APCLS (The People’s Alliance for Free and Sovereign Congo)
at Search for Common Ground
Mapping of APCLS territory
at Suluhu.org North Kivu Rebel groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo 2006 establishments in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Military units and formations established in 2006