On August 16, 2021, Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi authorized the US special forces to help fight one of the deadliest militia groups linked to the Islamic State (ISIS), the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF). Months into this, a tweet shared a video on December 13, 2021.
The tweet claims that the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) was supplying weapons to Mai Mai groups in South Kivu, stirring up unrest in the area.
This same video was previously shared under similar claims. This YouTube upload for instance claimed, “Fulani Bandits Successfully Have Their Weapons Delivered To Them With Helicopter.” Another similar claim was shared on Facebook and Twitter.
Background
Mai Mai Yakutuma, just like ADF is considered an illegal armed group by MONUSCO. Operating in South Kivu, the Mai Mai group is believed to be in alliance with the National Liberation Forces, another militia group from Burundi. The Mai Mai are known for illegal exploitation of gold and logging for income streams.
By March 2021, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) says, “Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), has killed nearly 200 people, injured dozens of others, and displaced an estimated 40,000 people in DRC’s Beni Territory in North Kivu province as well as nearby villages in Ituri province.”
“This is in addition to 465 Congolese killed in attacks attributed to the ADF during 2020.”
Verification
A reverse image search on this video did not lead to any particular post. However, a fact-check by France24 Observers reveals that this video was taken on December 4, 2021. According to this article, this video was taken in Chinko park in the Central African Republic.
Speaking to France24 Observers, Africa Parks operations manager, Erik Mararv said,
“African Parks can confirm that the video shows one of its helicopters carrying out a routine resupply mission in Chinko, in the Central African Republic, on December 4. African Parks manages the site in partnership with the Central African government.”
He also adds that during the mission, “the helicopter was transporting the Chinko [Reserve] outreach teams and their supplies to the park, dropping off one team and their supplies in the field, and picking up another team.”
Additionally, looking at the details of this video, there is no single firearm that can be identified during this mission.
Verdict
Claims that this video shows weapons being supplied to a militia group in DRC is FALSE.
This story was produced by Africa Uncensored in partnership with Code for Africa with support from Deutsche Welle Akademie.
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