This is a list of factions of the Ituri war (2017-present). Throughout the nearly ten-year long war, a number of different groups have formed and dissolved fighting the Congolese government, civilians, and within themselves. For many civilian attacks, especially in the early years of the war and the 2018 Djugu violence, identifying perpetrators has been difficult. In the early stages of the war, ragtag Lendu militias were the dominant non-state actor conducting attacks on civilians and the FARDC.
Chiefdoms in Ituri can be delineated by their name; Lendu chiefdoms start with Walendu, and Hema chiefdoms start with Bahema. The Walendu areas are Walendu Pitsi, Walendu Tatsi, and Walendu Djatsi. The Hema areas are Bahema Badjere, Bahema Nord, and Bahema Banywagi. These areas are all located in Djugu territory. Throughout the course of the war, the conflict has expanded into Irumu Territory and Mahagi Territory. Walendu and Bahema chiefdoms are not composed entirely of Hema or Lendu. In areas like Mahagi and Irumu, along with parts of Djugu, communities of Bira, Gegere, and Alur live alongside the Hema and Lendu. The Alur and Gegere have been targeted alongside the Hema, and some Bira have formed the FPIC and ally with the Lendu.
Lendu and Hema militias The primary driver of the 2018 violence against the Hema were coordinated community-based militias of Lendu. These militias came from Walendu Pitsi and Walendu Djatsi, and many Lendu were spurred to action by hate speech publicly called for by prominent Lendu local leaders. While CODECO militants during this time may have participated in these attacks, the group did not start claiming attacks against civilians and actively clashing with the Congolese government until August 2018. Hema militias did not mobilize to the same extent as Lendu militias did, and were more often than not on the receiving end of attacks.
A primary leader of Hema mobilization during the Djugu violence was Yves Kahwa Mandro Panga, a former UPC commander. Two other Lendu and Hema elites, Longbe Tchabi Linga and Pilo Kamaragi Mulindro, an ex-FNI militant and chief of Walendu Pitsi and ex-UPC militant and chief of Bahema Nord respectively, were accused of publicly calling for peace but stoking tensions privately. The group of people that sought peace the most were businessmen on both sides, as communal war was hurtful to their business.
Since late 2019, the main Lendu-majority militia has been CODECO (and since 2020, its affiliates). However, as militias formed, traditional impromptu militias like those that conducted the 2018 attacks dissipated. Lendu civilians have often been the target of attacks by CODECO splinters, as have Hema civilians with Zaïre-FPAC and Bira civilians with the FPIC.
CODECO and splinters
Unified CODECO
CODECO emerged in the conflict in August 2018 as an instigator of violence, although had been active in training Lendu youth since June 2017. Its first leaders were Mukwake Mambo and Lokana Mambo, both former Nationalist and Integrationist Front (FNI) members. Much of CODECO's early cadre was ex-FNI. Little to no Patriotic Resistance Front of Ituri (FPRI) militiamen fought alongside CODECO in the early stages of the war. CODECO utilized mystical potions and amulets called dawa to help them in battle. After Mukwake Mambo's death in 2018, Justin Ngudjolo took over control of the group, which had about 2,350 members in June 2019. The Congolese government and other groups in Ituri, including Lendu civil society figures opposed to CODECO, called Ngudjolo's CODECO the "Ngudjolo armed group."
After Ngudjolo's death by Congolese forces in March 2020, and the arrest of two of his lieutenants, CODECO splintered into several different groups. By late 2020, between 10 and 20 Lendu militias were present in the province. There have been attempts to reunify CODECO into one singular group again, but this has come in the form of alliances by CODECO groups that does not include them all. CODECO, when used as a singular term, refers to any or all CODECO groups colloquially.
Union of Revolutionaries for the Defense of the Congolese People (URPDC / CODECO-URPDC) The Union of Revolutionaries for the Defense of the Congolese People (URPDC) formed in 2018 at the same time as CODECO, but for its first two years rejected any affiliation with CODECO. In 2020, it rejected the moniker "Ngudjolo armed group". The URPDC quickly became one of the largest and most influential Lendu militias after Ngudjolo's death, and became referred to as a CODECO splinter. Charite Nguna Kiza succeeded Ngudjolo as de facto CODECO commander. The group's spokesperson, Basa Zukpa Guershom, has become the de facto spokesperson for all CODECO militias and as of 2025, was one of the most influential people in CODECO-URDPC. He became president of the group in 2026, and announced that the group wanted to become a political party. The defense commander, or defense chief of staff, Desire Londroma, has also remained at his post since 2020.
Between 2020 and 2026, URDPC has established several "brigades" under its control that conducts attacks and controls gold-mining, illegal taxation, and other illicit activities. As of 2025, Kiza is the commander of the first brigade, which also serves as CODECO-URPDC's headquarters. The headquarters of the first brigade (and of the group as a whole), as of 2025, is in Dyaro, Dhendo group, in Walendu Pitsi. In 2020, the group's headquarters was in Ndalo and Lodjo, in Walendu Pitsi. The second brigade's commander is Maki Kasongo, who tightly controls CODECO-URPDC's gold mining operations. The third brigade's commander is named Alfred, and Maki is his deputy. The fourth brigade's commander is Rehema. His predecessor, Lango, was killed in 2024 in intra-URDPC clashes. The fifth brigade commander is Logo Delo, and his deputy is Agenong'a Maneno. The sixth brigade commander is Songe.
The URDPC in 2023 claimed to have absorbed all other factions and be the dominant faction of CODECO. The group allied with the FPIC and FDBC, and called themselves a new group dubbed G3.
The URPDC follows the same cultish rituals as Ngudjolo's CODECO, and mixes Christianity, animism, and worships Ngudjolo. Not all Lendu or CODECO splinters follow these rituals.
Congo Liberation Army (ALC / CODECO-ALC) The origins of CODECO-ALC is not known. In July 2020, it became the first CODECO faction to sign a unilateral ceasefire with the Congolese government. Its leader was Justin Maki Gesi, also known as Mountain Wolf, until his death in the October 2020 Ituri offensive. In September 2020, the group broke the ceasefire and marched into Bunia with around 200 soldiers, including child soldiers, and demanded the release of their compatriots from prison. In October 2020, Congolese forces seized the ALC headquarters of Ezekere in Irumu Territory, although most of the group's operations took place in Walendu Tatsi. After brief clashes in early November 2020, the group re-committed to a ceasefire.
Like other CODECO factions, the ALC collected taxes through gold mining operations and illegal checkpoints. In 2021, the group might have forged an alliance with the FPIC, FRPI dissidents, and CODECO-Bon Temple. In 2023, ALC had reportedly forged an alliance with CODECO-URDPC, where militants from both groups carried out the Nyamamba and Mbogi massacres.
Revolutionary Army for the Defense of the Congolese People (ARDPC / CODECO-ARDPC) The ARDPC originally split off from the URDPC in January 2020, claiming that they disagreed with the URDPC's killing of civilians. The URDPC confirmed the split but said that the ARDPC was conducting the killings. The ARDPC was first led by Olivier Ngabu Ngawi, who was the first to proclaim himself the successor of Justin Ngudjolo in May 2020. The ARDPC in 2020 had a sub-commander named Rr'dja Kpalo Deogratace. The ARDPC was headquartered in Ala, Walendu Pitsi, until they were chased out of Ala by CODECO-URDPC in December 2020. After leaving Ala, the ARDPC was headquartered in Sanduku, just a few meters from a FARDC base.
By 2021, the ARDPC had dwindled from 135 members in 2020 to about 71, with many men leaving due to hunger. Around this time, they only had five AKs, two rocket launchers, and two PKMs. Like other CODECO factions, the ARDPC routinely conducted attacks with bows and arrows and machetes. The group increasingly collaborated with the FARDC, looting civilian villages, and at one point demanded payment from the FARDC in helping "neutralize CODECO". The status of the ARDPC after 2021 is unclear.
Bon Temple de Dieu (Bon Temple / CODECO-Bon Temple) The origin of the Bon Temple faction is unknown, although it may have split off from URDPC. It was founded by someone named Tuwo, whose origins vary wildly depending on source but is widely regarded to be a hunter. In 2020, the group operated in southwestern Djugu territory's Banyani Kilo area, and was headquartered in Nyangaray with positions in Ngoto and Ritsi. The group had between 400 and 800 fighters until January 2021. In January 2021, the FDBC attacked Nyangaray and Ngoto, dislodging the Bon Temple faction from those areas and burning another ten villages. The FDBC attacked Bon Temple due to the group's refusal to join the peace process and also Bon Temple's killings of Lendu civilians. A leader of Bon Temple named Butsoro was killed in the clashes; Tuwo himself was killed by the FDBC in May 2021. His successor, "General" Kadogo, joined the URDPC and became the commander for Nyangaray.
During its short lifespan as a militia, Bon Temple was notorious for its sexual violence. In an attack on Bunzenzele in July 2020, Tuwo personally commanded and planned out the destruction of many homes and the rape and kidnapping of women. Many of the victims were Hema, although some were Nyali, Mubira, and Lendu. Several of the victims were children. Almost all of the women interviewed by MONUSCO described the rapes and captivity as torture. Bon Temple also levied illegal taxes on gold mining operations in Banyani Kilo.
Defense Forces Against the Balkanization of the Congo (FDBC) In 2020, the FDBC was led by Chui Mutambala, with Awilo Nichunga as deputy chief of staff. The spokesperson for the group was Stalone Beby. The FDBC operated in Walendu Djatsi. The FDBC operates closely with CODECO-URDPC, at times even clashing with Hema and Zaïre-FPAC militants alongside URDPC. The main attack claimed by the FDBC was the battle of Nyangaray in 2021 that effectively ended CODECO-Bon Temple. Since mid-2021, the FDBC has had an alliance with CODECO-URDPC, and the two groups work together in imposing taxes on civilians, profiting off illicit gold mining activities in Mongbwalu, and the raping and killing of civilians.
Other CODECO factions Two other named CODECO factions are known to exist; CODECO-Catholique, which was reported to have a delegate at the CODECO-URPDC headquarters and operated under URPDC in 2023, and CODECO-Islamique, which included the Koba and Nyangaruhi groupings. CODECO-Islamique was dubbed an informal faction that incorporated Quranic teachings and preachers affiliated with the Allied Democratic Forces. In late 2020, six to ten CODECO splinters were operating.
CODECO-affiliated factions
Patriotic and Integrationist Front of the Congo (FPIC / Chini ya Kilima) The FPIC, also called Chini ya Kilima after the area it was founded, is a predominantly Bira militia founded in 2020 against alleged Hema encroachment onto their land and lack of representation in Ituri and national politics. In 2020, the group was active around southwest Ituri in Marabho and Nyakunde, both gold mining areas. It has also been active in the northwest in Mwanga, Kunda, Walu, and Balazana along RN27. The group initially targeted FARDC, but began killing non-Bira civilians, mainly Hemas after May 2020. It had about 4,500 men by 2022, and most of those lived at its headquarters at Nyankunde.