Laurent Nkunda alias Laurent Nkundabatware or Laurent Nkunda Batware (born February 2, 1967) is a former General in the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and is the current leader of a rebel faction operating in the province of Nord-Kivu, sympathetic to Congolese Tutsis and the Tutsi-dominated government of neighbouring Rwanda. Nkunda commands former DRC troops of the 81st and 83rd Brigades of the DRC Army.

Religious beliefs

Nkunda claims to be a devout Pentecostal Christian and says most of his troops have converted as well. In the 2008 documentary “Blood Coltan” about the real costs of mobile phones, Nkunda proudly shows a button he wears that reads “Rebels for Christ.” He claims to be a Seventh Day Adventist Priest and that he receives help and guidance from American “Rebels for Christ” who visit the Congo spreading Pentecostal Christianity.

Human rights

Throughout the years Nkunda has come under scrutiny and been accused by a number of organizations of committing Human Rights abuses. Nkunda has been indicted for war crimes in September 2005 and is under investigation by the International Criminal Court.

According to human rights monitors such as Refugees International, Nkunda’s troops have been alleged to have committed acts of murder, rape, and pillaging of civilian villages; a charge which Nkunda denies. Amnesty International says his troops have abducted children as young as 12 and forced them to serve as child soldiers.

In May 2002, he was accused of massacring 160 people in Kisangani, prompting UN Human Rights Commissioner Mary Robinson to call for his arrest following the abduction and beating of two UN investigators by his troops. He has claimed that the UN have ignored the widespread attacks on Tutsis in the region as they did during the Rwandan Genocide in 1994.

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Laurent Nkunda

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