ABSTRACT
Since the beginning of the 1990s, the region of the African Great Lakes has been oscillating between phases of fragile peace and conflicts (Omeje, 2013; Prunier, 2009; Reyntjens, 2009). In the Eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a variety of local and foreign militias and rebel groups (labelled as ‘negative forces’ by the UN) have been active since 1996. More than three million people have died during the two last decades, either directly or indirectly from the armed conflict. Up to now, dozens of armed groups terrorize the civilian population on a regular basis, engage in skirmishes with the Congolese army and UN troops and plunder national resources, leaving the East provinces of North Kivu and Maniema in permanent insecurity.
