North Kivu is a province bordering Lake Kivu in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
History
Second Congo War
In August 1998, the Second Congo War initially began. As dozens of civilians were killed, the United Nations decided to sent the Peacekeeping Unit to North Kivu to proved help for civilians, and protect them from anti-government forces. At one of the confrontations, the hostile soldiers were ready to massacre peacemakers and cilivians before they were saved by Black Panther who was able to take down all soldiers.[1]
Ten Rings Involvement
The Ten Rings used to work with members of the Congolese Army to fulfill their quest of destabilizing multiple regions to induce global chaos. The United States Armed Forces, wanting to send the message that they do not need Iron Man for keeping world peace, tasked Hammer Industries with developing a single pilot close-quarter combat vehicle nicknamed the Aerodynamic Marvel.
Thaddeus Ross ordered the vehicle to be carried in a B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber and deployed over the Congo, in order to perform a field test in an actual war zone monitored by Ross and Justin Hammer. However, despite Hammer's claims that the vehicle was not vulnerable to surface-to-air attacks, the Congolese Army was able to shoot the plane down, crashing in the North Kivu region and leaving the pilot alone in hostile territory. The military requested Stark to rescue the pilot, hoping he would fulfill the original mission of the Aerodynamic Marvel.
The Congolese Army approached the vehicle, salvaging any piece of equipment they could and capturing the pilot. Ross tried to activate the self-destruct mechanism to avoid any further complications but was unable to do it due to the damage the virtual umbilical systems had sustained. Stark arrived just in time to save the pilot from being executed by Congolese soldiers. However, he refused to kill the soldiers, disarming and knocking them down by striking the soil beneath them. Stark flew away with the pilot, receiving a call from Ross, who ordered him to evacuate the soldier to Egypt.[2]
