Kinyandonyi is a village in the

Rutshuru Territory Rutshuru Territory is a Territories of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, territory in the North Kivu province of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), with headquarters is the town of Rutshuru. The territory is mountainous, inclu ...

of the North Kivu Province,

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 ...

. Kinyandonyi is situated 10 km east of the city of Kiwanja in Bukoma groupement, in the Bwisha Chiefdom and 85 km north of the capital of the province

Goma Goma is a city in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the North Kivu, North Kivu Province; it is located on the northern shore of Lake Kivu and shares borders with the Bukumu Chiefdo ...

. The region is inhabited by the

Hunde people The Hunde people also (BaHunde, MuHunde(plural), Kobi, Rukobi) are descendants of Bantu people primarily inhabiting the Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Many live in the Masisi Territory, Rutshuru Territory and Walikale Territo ...

as well as some remaining autochthonous populations of

African Pygmies The African Pygmies (or Congo Pygmies, variously also Central African foragers, African rainforest hunter-gatherers (RHG) or Forest People of Central Africa) are a group of ethnicities Indigenous peoples of Africa, native to Central Africa, ...

, including the Twa people and the

Mbuti people The Mbuti people, or Bambuti, are one of several indigenous pygmy groups in the Congo region of Africa. Their languages are Central Sudanic languages and Bantu languages. Subgroups Bambuti are pygmy hunter-gatherers, and are one of the oldest ...

. In addition to the Hunde, Twa, and Mbuti, there are other ethnic groups, including the

Nyanga Nyanga may mean: *Nyanga Province, of Gabon *Nyanga River, in Gabon and Congo *Nyanga people, an ethnic group from Congo *Nyanga, Zimbabwe, a town *Nyanga District, Zimbabwe *Nyanga National Park in Zimbabwe *Nyanga, Western Cape, a township in Sou ...

, Lega, Kumu,

Hutu The Hutu (), also known as the Abahutu, are a Bantu ethnic group native to the African Great Lakes region. They mainly live in Rwanda, Burundi, and Uganda where they form one of the principal ethnic groups alongside the Tutsi and the Great L ...

and

Tutsi The Tutsi ( ), also called Watusi, Watutsi or Abatutsi (), are an ethnic group of the African Great Lakes region. They are a Bantu languages, Bantu-speaking ethnic group and the second largest of three main ethnic groups in Rwanda and Burundi ( ...

Economy

Agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

is a growing source of

income Income is the consumption and saving opportunity gained by an entity within a specified timeframe, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. Income is difficult to define conceptually and the definition may be different across fields. F ...

, as most of the population lives in abundance of

poverty Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...

and lives in an infernal cycle of misery. Consequently, the Association of Agricultural Journalists of Congo (AJAC), a non-partisan organization for agriculture, distributes

seed In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be Sowing, sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds ...

s for agricultural development, teaches technical skills relating to farming and

livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...

, and trains villagers in the region to save their money. In addition, the organization helps villagers to learn

business management Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. Overview The administration of a business includes the performance o ...

and supports them in making their projects more sustainable and secure.

Security problems

The conflict has plagued the Kinyandonyi village since interethnic fighting erupted during the

First First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

and the

Second Congo War The Second Congo War, also known as Africa's World War or the Great War of Africa, was a major conflict that began on 2 August 1998, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, just over a year after the First Congo War. The war initially erupted ...

. During the First and Second Congo Wars, the

Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo The Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire (), also known by the French acronym AFDL, was a coalition of Rwandan, Ugandan, Burundian, and Congolese dissidents, disgruntled minority groups, and nations that toppled Mobut ...

(AFDL), supported by

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 ...

, waged war in

Zaire Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to 18 May 1997. Located in Central Africa, it was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa after Sudan and Algeria, and the 11th-la ...

and systematically shelled numerous camps, committed massacres, forced the repatriation of some of the Hutu refugees back to Rwanda as well as fighting to oust

Mobutu Sese Seko Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa za Banga ( ; born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu; 14 October 1930 – 7 September 1997), often shortened to Mobutu Sese Seko or Mobutu and also known by his initials MSS, was a Congolese politician and military officer ...

out of power. As a result, the Hutu refugees fled westward into more remote areas of Zaire, including

Lubero Lubero is a town in the North Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the administrative center of the Lubero Territory. Following the surrender of the Mai-Mai fighters in 2021, construction of a new market began in 2022, in ...

, Kinyandonyi, Kaniola, Kigurwe, Tingi-Tingi, Wendji Secli, Ingende,

Mbandaka Mbandaka (, formerly known as Coquilhatville in French, or Coquilhatstad in Dutch) is a city in the Democratic Republic of Congo located near the confluence of the Congo and Ruki rivers. It is the capital of Équateur Province. The city was f ...

, and other regions in eastern Zaire. From 2000 onwards, forces from the ''Coalition des Patriotes Résistants du Congo'' (PARECO), the ''Rassemblement Congolais pour la Démocratie'' (RCD),

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 ...

and the ''

Congrès National pour la Défense du Peuple The National Congress for the Defence of the People (, CNDP) was a Congolese Rwandan-backed paramilitary rebel group active in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo during the Kivu conflict. Established on 26 July 2006 by Laurent Nkunda i ...

'' (CNDP) all carried out

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...

s and killings and ‘insecurity, corruption and injustice increased’. In April 2008, the clashes between the

Congolese army Congolese or Kongolese may refer to: African peoples * Congolese people (disambiguation) * Kongo people, a Bantu ethnic group who live along the Atlantic coast of Africa from Pointe-Noire (Republic of Congo) to Luanda, Angola, primarily defined by ...

of the 6th Integrated Brigade and the FDLR militiamen in the villages of Mugogo, Rugarama and Kinyandonyi resulted in six fatalities and 14 wounded. In January 2020, eight people were killed, several were injured and three homes were set on fire in an attack by suspected FDLR (''Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda'') operatives in Kinyandonyi, in the chiefdom of Bwisha in the Rutshuru territory, North Kivu. In April 2020, the FDLR conducted an armed attack in the Kinyandonyi village, resulting in one death and several injuries. In November 2022, four people were killed by a bomb, and several others were severely wounded in the village of Kinyandonyi near the CEPAC church. Four members of the same family lost their lives in a

rocket A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely ...

launched by the M23 rebels.

References

{{Reflist Populated places in North Kivu Kivu conflict

Economy

Security problems

See also

References