The MRC emerged in Ituri District, Democratic Republic of the Congo in September 2006. Rather than a rebel group in its own right, it was chiefly a coalition[1] of different independent rebel groups including the Patriotic Resistance Front of Ituri (FRPI), Party for Unity and Safeguarding of the Integrity of Congo (PUSIC), Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC), Nationalist and Integrationist Front (FNI), Armed Forces of the Congolese People (FAPC), and the Rally for Congolese Democracy-KML (RCD-KML).[3] It was led by Bwambale Kabolele and Bosco Ntaganda and received foreign support, probably from Uganda and Rwanda which were competing for influence in the eastern Congo at the time.[3]