[1][8][9][10] In modern times, CODECO has sometimes been described as a "cult"[4] or "sect",[5] though the UN Security Council notes that not all factions adhered to religious worship.

[12] The religious side of the group is headed by a Ngadjole Ngabu, known as "the Sacrificer", who presented himself as a spiritual leader to a dominant branch of CODECO.

He, alongside other CODECO fighters, met with a government peace delegation led by onetime local warlords from the early years of the conflict – which several sources cited by AFP reported had decreased the rate of massacres.

[1] The group became a mouthpiece for Lendu demands, namely the reclamation of land allegedly taken by the Hema tribe and the refusal to accept foreign exploitation of local resources.

In 2003, the internationally-led Operation Artemis succeeded in ending the violence between the Lendu and Hema groups, achieving a period of relative stability in the region.

[1] The reorganized CODECO once more echoed the same demands for property rights that had originally come to define the movement, but met criticism at the hands of prominent Lendu figures, which accused it of unjustified violence and outside manipulation.

[1][14][13] In mid 2019, the United Nations accused armed Lendu groups of mass killings of Hema civilians, but did not name CODECO directly.

The group offered to lay down its arms, so long as a disarmament deal gave amnesty to its members, provided CODECO fighters a right to join the Congolese Army with their current rank if they so choose, or disarm and be reintegrated into civilian life as part of a DDR campaign.

Negotiations stalled and CODECO members were subjected to very poor living conditions and food shortages, which led to the formation of anti-ceasefire factions, which once more took up arms.

[1][2] It and other Lendu militias suffered several setbacks during March of that year, including the killing of its own leader Ngudjolo,[3] but then returned on the offensive by April, reasserting control over various localities in North-Eastern Congo.

[6] About a month later, about 100 heavily-armed CODECO fighters entered the city of Bunia and demanded the release of several group members, which were being held in a local prison.

[11] The September 4th gunmen belonging to CODECO enter to the city of Bunia, in the eastern of the country and protested for treatment during a continuing peace process and to demand the release of jailed fighters.