The Rastas () are an armed criminal group active in Eastern parts of the

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 ...

, believed to have been founded in 2004. Its members are predominantly

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 ...

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 ...

s and former ''

génocidaires Génocidaires () are those who commit acts of genocide. The term was used initially in reference to Rwandans who are guilty of genocide for their involvement in the mass killings which were perpetrated in Rwanda during the 1994 Rwandan genocide ...

'' and are believed to have ties to the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) militia active in the same region. The Rastas live as fugitives in the Congolese forest and are heavily armed. They have engaged in acts of

violent crime A violent crime, violent felony, crime of violence or crime of a violent nature is a crime in which an offender or perpetrator uses or threatens to use harmful Force (law), force upon a victim. This entails both crimes in which the violence, vio ...

, including kidnapping, rape, burning babies and chopping their foes. Group members have adopted Rastafarian-style dreadlocks and wear

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

jerseys and tracksuits.

References

Further reading