The Front for Patriotic Resistance in Ituri (; FRPI) is a

Bunia Bunia is the capital Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, city of Ituri Province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It was part of the Orientale Province until that province's dissolution. It lies at an elevation of on a ...

-based armed militia and political party primarily active in the south of the

Ituri Province Ituri Province ( in Swahili) is one of the 21 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo created in the 2015 repartitioning. Ituri, Bas-Uele, Haut-Uele, and Tshopo provinces are the result of the subdividing of the former Orientale ...

of northeastern

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

(formerly the

Orientale Province Orientale Province () is one of the former provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and its predecessors the Congo Free State and the Belgian Congo. It went through a series of boundary changes between 1898 and 2015, when it was divided ...

). It is a member of the

Congo River Alliance The Congo River Alliance (; AFC) is a Congolese rebel coalition led by former Independent National Electoral Commission President Corneille Nangaa. The coalition consists of armed opposition groups and political parties that seek to overthrow the ...

History

Origin

The FRPI was established in November 2002 from the Ngiti ethnolinguistic group, a subgroup of

Lendu The Lendu language is a Central Sudanic language spoken by the Balendru, an ethno-linguistic agriculturalist group residing in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo in the area west and northwest of Lake Albert, specifically the Ituri Provin ...

, as an ally to the Lendu-dominated

Nationalist and Integrationist Front The Nationalist and Integrationist Front (, or FNI) is a rebel group active in the Ituri conflict in Ituri, Democratic Republic of the Congo, associated with the Lendu ethnic group. The FNI has fought against ethnic Hema and is blamed for the a ...

(FNI). The Ngiti, organized under traditional leaders, thus formed a counterweight to the

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

-backed and

Hema Hema may refer to: * Hemā (mythology), a figure from Polynesian mythology * HEMA (store), a Dutch chain of stores * Hema (supermarket) (盒马), a supermarket chain in China * Hema maps, an Australian map publisher * Hema people, an ethnic grou ...

-dominated

Union of Congolese Patriots The Union of Congolese Patriots (, or UPC) is a political and militia group in Ituri, northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, formed towards the end of the Second Congo War. It was founded by Thomas Lubanga in 2001 and was one of six su ...

(UPC) in the

Ituri conflict The Ituri conflict () is an ongoing low-intensity conflict, low intensity asymmetrical warfare, asymmetrical conflict between the farmer, agriculturalist Lendu and pastoralism, pastoralist Hema (ethnicity), Hema ethnic groups in the Ituri Provin ...

. The FRPI was supported by the

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

-backed

Forces for Renewal The Forces for Renewal (), generally still known by its original name RCD-Kisangani-Movement for Liberation (RCD/K-ML), is a political party in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The party originated as a breakaway faction of the rebel Rally for C ...

faction of the

Rally for Congolese Democracy The Congolese Rally for Democracy (; abbreviated RCD), also known as the Rally for Congolese Democracy, is a political party and a former rebel group that operated in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It was suppo ...

. In 2002–2003, the FRPI received support from both the

Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Armed (May, 1941–1964) was an American Thoroughbred gelding race horse who was the American Horse of the Year in 1947 and Champion Older Male Horse in both 1946 and 1947. He was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame ...

(FARDC) and

Uganda People's Defence Force The Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF), previously known as the National Resistance Army, is the armed forces of Uganda. From 2007 to 2011, the International Institute for Strategic Studies estimated the UPDF had a total strength of 40,000–4 ...

(UPDF) in fighting against the UPC. Both the DRC and Uganda had also assisted in the initial creation of the FRPI and FNI, though neither group ever established full control over Lendu fighters in Ituri.

Operations

In May 2003, the FRPI reportedly had 9,000 combatants and be closely linked to the FNI. By 2015, this number was estimated to have declined to 1,000. In February 2003, the FRPI participated in the

Bogoro massacre The assault on Bogoro, which occurred on February 24, 2003, was an attack on the village of Bogoro in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) by the Nationalist and Integrationist Front (FNI) and the Front for Patriotic Resistance of Ituri (FR ...

with the FNI. The FRPI joined the UPDF in a successful March 2003 offensive against the UPC and jointly occupied the town with the FNI in May 2003."Ituri: Bloodiest Corner of Congo -- Who is Who - Armed Political Groups in Ituri" (May 2003)

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

In 2006, the Congolese government signed a ceasefire with the FRPI and other rebel groups active in the northeast of the country. Though 15,000 FRPI soldiers were demobilized as part of the peace process and many commanders integrated into the FARDC, violent FRPI activity returned in 2008 with attacks by residual FRPI forces against Ituri villages and FARDC camps. In September 2008, FRPI commanders splintered off to form the Popular Front for Justice in Congo (FPJC). Whereas its ally the FNI largely transformed into a political party in 2005, the FPRI has resisted disarmament and demobilization campaigns. In the 2010s, the FARDC launched search operations against the FRPI, deemed the most successful government operations since the 2013 defeat of the

March 23 Movement The March 23 Movement (), often abbreviated as M23 and also known as the Congolese Revolutionary Army (), is a Congolese Rwandan-backed rebel paramilitary group. Based in the eastern regions of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it operates ...

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

envoy

Martin Kobler Martin Kobler (born 1953 in Stuttgart) is a German former career diplomat who served as German Ambassador to Egypt, Iraq and Pakistan. He served as Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General and Head of United Nations Suppo ...

. Initially led by

Germain Katanga Germain Katanga (; born 28 April 1978), also known by his nom de guerre Simba (), is a Congolese former rebel leader and the former head of the Patriotic Resistance Force in Ituri (FRPI), an armed group in the Ituri Province of the Democratic R ...

, FRPI leadership switched in 2005 to Baudouin Adirodo. Katanga was arrested and flown to the

International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

in October 2007 to face charges of

war crime A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostage ...

s and

crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are certain serious crimes committed as part of a large-scale attack against civilians. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity can be committed during both peace and war and against a state's own nationals as well as ...

, including the use of

child soldier Children in the military, including state armed forces, non-state armed groups, and other military organizations, may be trained for combat, assigned to support roles, such as cooks, porters/couriers, or messengers, or used for tactical adv ...

s and promotion of

sexual slavery Sexual slavery and sexual exploitation is an attachment of any ownership rights, right over one or more people with the intent of Coercion, coercing or otherwise forcing them to engage in Human sexual activity, sexual activities. This includ ...

. He was found guilty in March 2014."Congo warlord flown to The Hague"
''

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

'', 18 October 2007Germain Katanga: Guilty of war crimes, the brutal warlord who terrorised the Democratic Republic of Congo

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

, 07 March, 2014. Accessed 08 March, 2014 He was released from prison in March 2020 after International Criminal Court reduced his sentence from 12 to 6 years. FRPI signed a peace accord on February 28, 2020 with the government of DRC in presence of the UN. The accord provided the integration of FRPI fighters into the army and a ceasefire. Rebel fighters who haven't committed

war crimes A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hos ...

were provided amnesty by the accord. Despite the peace deal signed in March 2020, fighting between government of DRC and FRPI happened on overnight of 30 December. Six FRPI fighters, three government soldiers, and two civilians were killed in the fighting.

References

{{Democratic Republic of the Congo political parties Factions of the Second Congo War Paramilitary organisations based in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Political parties in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Military units and factions of the Ituri conflict Rebel groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Political parties established in 2002 2002 establishments in the Democratic Republic of the Congo