| Country: | Congo Kinshasa |
| Details of Formation: | The militia was a Hutu rebel group in Burundi before becoming a PGM in Congo. President Kabila asked the rebels to come to Congo in 1998 to help him fight against the Rwandan Army. |
| Details of Termination: | In 1999, the Lusaka Peace Agreement demands that President Kabila stops support for the FDD. In 2001, a source reports that the government in Kinshasa stills supplies the militia with weapons. Eventually, the PGM laid down its arms in 2003 after the Burundian government agreed to share power with the Hutu rebel group. |
| Purpose: | President Kabila supported the militia as part of his strategy in the Second Congo War to fight the Rwandan military. |
| Organisation: | Before becoming a PGM in Congo, the FDD was organized as a rebel group in Burundi. In 2003, when the PGM ceased to be a militia, their leader was given a political office in the Burundian government. |
| Weapons and Training: | The Kabila government supported the militia by providing them with arms. |
| Size: | One source reports that the militia has 7,000 members. |
| Reason for Membership: | Members joined because of their ethnic loyalty and because they wanted to intimidate ethnic Tutsis. |
| Treatment of Civilians: | Alongside the Rwandan Interahamwe and other pro-government militias the FDD participated in the Second Congo War where they used violence not only against military targets, but also against civilians. The government supported their behaviour by continuing supplying them with arms after the 1999 Lusaka Peace Agreement. |
| Other Information: | Burundi Hutu employed to fight against Rwandan army |
| References: | Check PGMD for evidence. |