Rutshuru

Rutshuru, sometimes called Rushuru, is a town located in the North Kivu province of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, and is headquarters of an administrative district, the Rutshuru Territory. The town lies in the western branch of the Albertine Rift between Lakes Edward and Kivu. The Ugandan border is 15 km east and the Rwandan border is 30 km south-east. Lava flows from the Nyamuragira volcano, 40 km south-west, have come within 7 km of the town in recent years.

It is the largest town formerly controlled by the rebel National Congress for the Defence of the People faction. As of November 2012, the town is a stronghold of the rebel, or self-styled 'revolutionary' March 23 Movement. After the defeat of the M23 Movement the town was retaken by the Congolese army, and President Joseph Kabila paid a visit to the town in November 2013 after driving from Kisangani.

Rwandan Genocide and Congo Wars

Rutshuru has a Congolese Hutu population, and following the Rwandan Genocide large numbers of Rwandan Hutu refugees were housed in camps there. They became a centre for recruitment to the Hutu Rassemblement Démocratique pour le Rwanda (RDR) which carried out ethnic cleansing of the Banyamulenge, related to the Tutsi. The First and Second Congo Wars saw much fighting in the district involving Ugandan, Rwandan and Congolese forces of various factions. Since the official end of the war in 2002/3, fighting has periodically erupted between militias allied to the Hutu and Tutsi.