Editing Nationalist and Integrationist Front

[[Image:Région Ituri République démocratique du Congo.png|right|thumb|Map of [[Ituri Interim Administration|Ituri]] within the [[Democratic Republic of Congo|DRC]]]] 
The '''Nationalist and Integrationist Front''' ({{langx|fr|'''Front des Nationalistes et Intégrationnistes'''}}, or '''FNI''') is a rebel group active in the [[Ituri conflict]] in [[Ituri Province|Ituri]], [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]], associated with the [[Lendu]] ethnic group. The FNI has fought against [[Hema (ethnicity)|ethnic Hema]] and is blamed for the ambush and murder of nine [[United Nations]] peacekeepers near the town of [[Kafe, Democratic Republic of the Congo|Kafe]] in February 2005.<ref>[https://nytimes.com/2005/02/26/international/africa/26congo.html 9 U.N. Peacekeepers in Congo Killed by Militia Fighters], [[New York Times]], 26 February 2005</ref> FNI political leader [[Floribert Ndjabu]] was arrested by Congolese authorities, while military head [[Etienne Lona]] turned himself in.

The BBC alleges that, in 2005, the [[Pakistan]]i peacekeepers in [[Mongbwalu]] entered in a trading relationship for [[gold]] with FNI leaders, eventually drawing Congolese army officers and Indian traders from [[Kenya]] into the deal.  It is further alleged that these peacekeepers returned weapons taken from the FNI as part of demobilization efforts to FNI leaders known for human rights violations.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6681457.stm "UN troops 'traded gold for guns'"] by Martin Plaut, ''[[BBC News]]'', 22 May 2007</ref>

A 2005 [[Human Rights Watch]] report<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2005/06/01/curse-gold |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211020603/http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2005/06/01/curse-gold |archive-date=2008-12-11 |title=The Curse of Gold {{!}} Human Rights Watch}}</ref> details the connection between the FNI and the mining corporation [[AngloGold Ashanti]], a subsidiary of the [[Anglo American plc]]. AngloGold Ashanti admitted that its employees had paid money to the FNI on more than one occasion, in exchange for access to gold mines in the Ituri province.

In May 2006, one MONUC peacekeeper was killed and seven were taken captive in fighting with the FNI.  All of the UN peacekeepers were from [[Nepal]] and engaged in operations to disarm the militias 62 miles (100km) west of [[Bunia]], the capital of Ituri.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5027866.stm Rebels hold DR Congo peacekeepers], [[BBC News]], 30 May 2006</ref>  Two of the seven were released in June and the remaining five in mid-July. On 17 July the new leader of the FNI, Peter Karim Udaga, announced that he and sixty of his fighters were ending their battle with the government in exchange for the integration of FNI forces into the national army, including a post of Colonel for Karim.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5187148.stm DR Congo rebel chief 'to disarm'], BBC News, 17 July 2006</ref><ref>[http://www.africafiles.org/article.asp?ID=12330&ThisURL=./afgeneral.asp&URLName=Africa%20General Kinshasa accepts militia leader's plea to join army] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181205212340/http://www.africafiles.org/article.asp?ID=12330&ThisURL=.%2Fafgeneral.asp&URLName=Africa%20General |date=2018-12-05 }}, [[The New Humanitarian|IRIN]], 14 July 2006</ref>

The FNI, the [[Congolese Revolutionary Movement]], and the [[Front for Patriotic Resistance of Ituri]] (FRPI) agreed to disarm on 22 August 2007.<ref name="disarm">[http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/WO0708/S00569.htm DR Congo: Ex-militia Members Agree To Disarm] Scoop</ref> However, in 2008, several residents in Mongbwalu reported witnessing FNI militias being resupplied by Pakistani UN peacekeepers. The transfer of weapons was confirmed by two FNI leaders currently in prison&nbsp;– "Kung Fu" (Gen. [[Mateso Ninga]]) and "Dragon".<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7365283.stm "UN troops 'armed DR Congo rebels'"], ''[[BBC News]]'', 28 April 2008</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Armed groups in the Congo wars}}
[[Category:Factions of the Second Congo War]]
[[Category:Military units and factions of the Ituri conflict]]
[[Category:Rebel groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo]]