In addition, seven people were killed and three injured in apparently indiscriminate shelling on populated areas in Kanombe, Kitchanga, and near Mushaki, during M23 attacks. It is not clear if Tanzania will deploy troops. A 30-year-old woman described her encounter with rebel fighters close to Kitchanga, while she and her husband fled the fighting. The Ugandan intervention has also had profound geopolitical implications, a, In Kinshasa, hundreds of activists and civil society groups have held, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has called for the deployment of a regional military force in eastern DRC. Growing tension between Congo (formerly known as Zaire) and its neighbor Rwanda is threatening to spark a war in Africas Great Lakes region. Crimes Against Humanity and Ethnic Cleansing in Ethiopias Western Tigray Zone, Access to Services for Survivors of Gender-Based Violence in Ethiopias Tigray Region, Human Rights Watch defends the rights of people in close to 100 countries worldwide, spotlighting abuses and bringing perpetrators to justice. In 2022, despite the formal normalization of relations, renewed tensions mounted between DRC and Rwanda. She said that although the Congolese army had fled around February 26, the M23 shelled the village, hitting her uncles house and killing her cousin and another man. Susan Beachy contributed research. Arlette Bashizi/Agence France-Presse Getty Images. But the roots of the crisis go back further than the genocide. Technical issues and irregularities, including delays that affected over a million people,marredelection day. Human Rights Watch documented 8 unlawful killings and 14 cases of rape by M23 fighters. 01/17/2023. Nearly 8,000 people have died violently since 2017, according to the Kivu Security Tracker, which monitors conflict and human rights violations. A Comprehensive Approach to Congo's Conflict Minerals - Strategy Paper Map of the area displaying the locations of the newly built internally displaced persons camps. With smoking volcanoes, glassy lakes ringed by rippling hills and rainforests brimming with biodiversity, eastern Congo is known as one of the most beautiful places on earth. April 12, 2023, at 3:02 a.m. FILE - Internally displaced people from the Kibumba area near the North Kivu city of Goma, arrive on May 25, 2022 at the Kunyaruchinya school trying to shelter from the ongoing clashes between the Congolese Army and the M23 rebels. Timeline: Eastern Congo: A Legacy of Intervention - Council on Foreign The damage could be lasting. By the late 1990s, it was becoming clear to the world that targeted campaigns against Hutu populations during the First Congo War (mostly led by Kagames army) amounted to war crimes, a growing international consensus that reflected poorly on the fledgling Kabila regime. Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, Assistant Secretary-General for Africa in the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations, briefs members of the UN Security Council. Fighting broke out between Congolese army forces and the M23. Attacks with explosive weapons in populated areas of North Kivu province have killed and injured civilians, damaged infrastructure, and exacerbated an already dire humanitarian crisis. The group was pushed back the next year by the Congolese army and special forces of the U.N. Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO). It began with the Rwandan genocide, in 1994, when over a million people of the Hutu ethnic group fled Rwanda for Congo, then called Zaire. In an attempt to diminish the impression that Rwanda held undue influence over the Congolese government, Kabila denied claims that Rwanda had been responsible for winning the war and placing him in power. Regarding the scheduled departure of the peacekeeping mission MONUSCO, she said it was necessary to "stay the course for an orderly, gradual and responsible transition". Ruth Maclean reported from Dakar, Senegal, and Abdi Latif Dahir from Kigali, Rwanda. "For these efforts to bear fruit, it is urgent that the M23 withdraw completely from the occupied territories, lay down its arms unconditionallyand join the Demobilization, Disarmament, Recovery and Community Stabilization Programme," she added. A fortune lies in eastern Congos earth, and its neighbors know it. A Congolese army tank heads towards the front line in eastern Congo in May. It began largely because of ethnic tensions, political strife, and land rights. These camps are located in areas of high lava flow hazard. More gold. Some of the worst violence took place in Ituri, where. It countered by saying its neighbours had attacked its army, along with the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a militia comprising mostly Hutu fighters. There were seven of them, and five raped me. She reiterated the readiness of the UN mission in DRC, MONUSCO, to back up Congolese authorities with the pre-cantonment and disarmament of the powerful rebel force. Congo fashion show hopes to inspire peace, creativity in region Upon his inauguration, Tshisekedi inherited anumber of crises, including outbreaks ofEbola and ongoing violence in eastern DRC. The Rwandan government said the soldier was killed after he crossed into Rwandan territory and shot at security forces. In written observations shared with VOA by email, he called for a verifiable and enforceable conflict reduction initiative between Congo and its neighbors starting with Rwanda and an inclusive democratization process in Congo. In early August, it also ordered the U.N. to withdraw the mission's spokesperson, Mathias Gillman, saying his "indelicate and inappropriate remarks" exacerbated tensions between the mission and civilians in North Kivu. They accused us of being FDLR and said we were collaborating with killers, said the husband. Rwanda denies the claims. "An orderly and responsible transition depends on the ability of national security forces to deploy and respond effectively wherever the security situation requires it," she insisted. Eastern Congolese civilians are innocents under brutal attack from our neighbor, he said. The intervention brigade is comprised of troops from South Africa, Tanzania, and Malawi. I know nine people who died because of the M23 shelling, said one of them. What difference will the East African force make? Every weekday, get the worlds top human rights news, explored and explained by Andrew Stroehlein. Between 2002 and 2003, Rwanda, Uganda, and DRC began implementing a set of peace agreements that authorized a transitional government in Kinshasa led by Joseph Kabila. While U.S. companies once owned vast cobalt mines in the Congo, most were sold to Chinese companies during the Barack Obama and Donald Trump administrations. A gold miner near Bukavu, capital of South Kivu province, in November. Belgium first denied Congos political leaders the two-year transition period they asked for, then rushed to cast off the Congolese with no preparation to take over the reins of government. Explainer: What's Behind the Rising Conflict in Eastern DRC The rebels have made advances that include overrunning a Congolese military base in May and taking control of Bunagana, a trading town near the border with Uganda, in June. www.fpri.org Copyright 20002023. FILE - Demonstrators face police during a protest against the United Nations peacekeeping force (MONUSCO) deployed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Sake, some 24 kilometers west of Goma, July 27, 2022. I asked for forgiveness. At least 36 people, including four U.N. peacekeepers, have been killed since late July during protests in the region against the mission. They wanted to rape us, she said. The Kenyan contingent will be stationed near Goma in North Kivu and will command the East African Community Regional Force. However, like other crises in Africa such as famine, drought, coups and interethnic violence it has received little international attention with all eyes on the war in Ukraine. Certainly the genocide was a catalyst, said Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja, a historian of Congo who was recently appointed its permanent representative to the United Nations. Thousands of Congolese have taken to the streets to protest what they see as Rwandan aggression. The UN Group of Experts, that monitors the arms embargo and sanctions violations in Congo, independently presented compelling evidence of Rwandan support to the M23 rebels. "So far, the ceasefire between the M23 and the FARDC has held up relatively well and has contributed to some security gains, said UN Assistant Secretary-General for AfricaMartha Pobee. In May, Rwandas Ministry of Defense said two of its soldiers on patrol were kidnapped by rebels, and later announced their return following a diplomatic intervention. "We signed an agreement with President Tshisekedi and Congo government," Ngoma said, referring to the 2013 pact, "and we are ready to talk with the government. M23, short for the March 23 Movement, takes its name from a failed 2009 peace deal between the Congolese government and a now-defunct rebel group that had split off from the Congolese army and seized control of North Kivus provincial capital, Goma, in 2012. Rwanda and its president, Paul Kagame, accuse the DRC and its army of backing the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a Congo-based mainly Hutu rebel group that includes some fighters who were involved in the genocide. The resurgence of the M23 rebel group since late 2021 led several Congolese armed groups to form a coalition in opposition. UN investigators alsosaidthat Ugandan army commanders had sent troops and weapons to reinforce some M23 operations and assisted the group with recruiting. Explainer: Whats Behind the Rising Conflict in Eastern DRC? M23's renewed attacks aim "to pressure the Congolese government to answer their demands," said Jason Stearns, founder of the Congo Research Group at New York University, in a June briefing with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). She noted, however, that M23's withdrawal from territory has been "piecemeal, tactical, and political, while the armed group still controls much of Masisi and Rutshuru, together with the movement of people and goods in these areas. DRC is the fourth largest African country by population and the most populous francophone country in the world, and is home to an abundance of vital natural resources. Share this via WhatsApp Paul Nantulya, an Africa Center research associate who contributed to its analysis, predicted it would take time to resolve the long-running tensions between Rwanda and the DRC. VideoThe endangered languages that are fighting back, When Miss World in India threatened 'cultural apocalypse', Belarus leader welcomes Wagner boss into exile. That space, especially its mineral-rich eastern region, has been the battleground for more than a hundred armed groups fighting for control of territory there or using it as a base to launch attacks into some of its immediate neighbours Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Rwanda and Uganda. The eastern DRC has been plagued by fighting by at least 122 rebel groups according to a recent count by the United Nations for more than 25 years. Between these restrictions and the recent Chinese dominance in the Congolese mining market, U.S. economic interests in the Congo are relatively minimal. Thousands died; some casualties were former Hutu militants and members of armed groups, but many were refugees and non-combatant Congolese in the Kivu region. Access also has value. The way that minerals are mined affects conflict in eastern Congo In eastern Congo, numerous armed groups, and in some cases government security forces, attacked civilians, killing and wounding many. Belgium,France,and Germany have also urged Rwanda to stop assisting the M23. The rebels have made advances that include the overrunning of a Congolese military base in May and taking control of Bunagana, a trading town near the border with Uganda, in June. The Rwandan government has denied these allegations. My husband couldnt stand what happened to me and left me. Analysis and graphics 2023 Human Rights Watch. The dire security situation has been compounded by martial law in the region and the collaboration of the Congolese army with various armed groups, mostly along ethnic lines. Kinshasa accused Kigali of funding and supporting M23s resurgence (an accusation supported by the African Union and the United States). Ugandas President Yoweri Museveni has blamed ADF for suicide attacks in Kampala last October and November. The senior UN official urged all armed groups to"cease hostilities" and called for the redeployment of national security forces, particularly in Ituri, to restore State authority. Any support by the EU or foreign governments to troops deployed by the EAC or its member states should be provided only on condition of development of a vetting mechanism in line with international standards, a strong protection mandate and due diligence policy, and the development of a human rights monitoring mechanism. Whatever they are saying that we stop fighting and we leave eastern DRC where do you want us to go? M23 is among more than 100 armed groups operating in the eastern DRC, an unsettled region where conflict has raged for decades but is escalating, especially in recent months. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/01/world/africa/congo-rwanda.html. Rwanda and Ugandaand militias with their supporthave financial stakes in Congolese mines (though they are not always legitimate), adding fuel to the fire. Earlier this year, there were deadly protests against the UN and these have resumed in recent days as the M23 has advanced. They said that the rebels targeted houses they said belonged to other armed groups members. Despite these agreements, the establishment of truth and reconciliation commissions, and the presence of a renewed UN peacekeeping force, unrest and clashes persisted in eastern DRC. "The DRC produces more than 70% of the world's cobalt" and "holds 60% of the planet's coltan reserves," the industry website Mining Technology reported in February, speculating that the DRC "could become the Saudi Arabia of the electric vehicle age. The Beijing-Kinshasa relationship came under international scrutiny leading up to President Kabilas resignation in 2019 when evidence emerged that Chinese capitalintended for infrastructure investment as repayment for mining rightswas being funneled to Joseph Kabila and his associates. Russia also maintains a relationship with DRC. (Nairobi) Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in easternDemocratic Republic of Congohave committed unlawful killings, rape, and other apparent war crimes since late 2022, Human Rights Watch said today. About 120 militia groups roam eastern Congo. The affects of the conflict are not restricted to DR Congo, but are also souring diplomatic relations between Rwanda and DR Congo, which accuses its neighbour of backing the M23 rebels and even expelled the Rwandan ambassador last week. The United Nations Security Council should add M23 leaders, as well as Rwandan officials who are assisting this abusive armed group, to the councils existing sanctions list. She said: They asked my husband for money, and he lied and said he didnt have any. The Western coalition strives for a globally united front to counter Russia, and the Kremlins growing ties to African states are a threat to that goal. Kabila also began removing ethnic Tutsis from his government, and took measures to weaken Rwandan military hegemony in eastern DRC. One Congolese official even declared that if Rwanda wants war, it will have war.. Conflict in Eastern Congo Forces Thousands of Schools to Close Africa's World War: The Congo War - History Guild Conflict in Eastern Congo: A Spark Away from a Regional Conflagration Rwandan President Kagame, 64, told the Rwanda Broadcasting Agency he has "no problem" with that. There is no specific figure on the number of troops that will be deployed. In Kanombe, which M23 forces captured in August 2022, former residents said that several hundred armed M23 fighters entered the town wearing military uniforms, sometimes with RDF insignia, and body armor. The DRC, accepted this spring into the East African Community regional bloc, agreed to the community's call in June for a Kenya-led regional security force to protect civilians and forcibly disarm combatants who do not willingly put down their weapons. Read about our approach to external linking. The international communitys attention is now focused on whats happening in Ukraine.. A country of paradoxes, it is a land rich in natural resources, but its people are among the poorest in the world. Video, The endangered languages that are fighting back, All the latest BBC stories about DR Congo, Anger in Paris after police kill teen in traffic stop, South Koreans become younger under new law, Trump countersues E Jean Carroll for defamation, City centre bar forced to close by huge bee swarm, Ex-NFL player Mallett, 35, dies in apparent drowning, Actor Julian Sands confirmed dead after remains identified. The endangered languages that are fighting back. Al Jazeera Centre for Public Liberties & Human Rights. The DRC and its president, Felix Tshisekedi, accuse Rwanda of supporting M23, the main rebel group battling the Congolese army in eastern DRC. This led to the downfall of Congos longtime kleptocratic leader, Mobutu Sese Seko, who had been backed by the United States and was forced into exile. Its plan is to take the city of Goma and force Congos government to accept its demands, according to a recent U.N. report. Advertisement Why Is There So Much Turmoil in Eastern Congo? Both Congo and Rwanda have an obligation to hold M23 commanders accountable for their crimes along with any Rwandan officials supporting them. In late November, Uganda and the DRC began a joint military operation in North Kivu to hunt down the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an armed group of Ugandan rebels affiliated with the Islamic State group and designated by the U.S. government as a terrorist organization. Goma, DRC For decades, the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been the scene of one of the worlds longest-running conflicts. DR Congo. History of the conflict - Eastern Congo Initiative The M23, which was formed a decade ago, claims to defend the interests of ethnic Tutsis living in DR Congo against Hutu militias. What can be done to address the crisis? The M23s renewed military operations and abuses have stoked ethnic hatred against the Congolese Tutsi community, whom many Congolese in North Kivu consider supporters of the M23, a largely Tutsi-led armed group. If unchecked, the unrest risks reigniting interstate conflict in the Great Lakes region, as the Africa Center for Strategic Studies warned in a late June report on the worsening security situation. Fashion designers from several parts of Africa have come together for a show in eastern Congo, hoping to inspire peace and creativity in a region long affected by conflict. More than 100 armed groups operate in eastern DRC, an unsettled region where conflict has raged for decades but has escalated in recent months. She said: I offered them money, they said no. Bintou Keita, who heads the UN Stabilization Mission in the . June briefing with the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The project was expected to increase the two countries' trade volume and cross-border transparency, and to strengthen relations through "infrastructure diplomacy," The East African reported. Kagame has also not been on the best of terms with Ugandas Yoweri Museveni, his former mentor, although that relationship is improving. The fighting at the beginning of the week . The incident remains unexplained, according to, The DRC and Rwandan governments are now accusing each other of supporting or endorsing different armed groups and, Ituri has also been affected by violence attributed to the, On March 23, 2009, the Congolese government signed a peace agreement with a pro-Tutsi militia. Two people in Karuba confirmed the deaths. The Second Congo War was formally brought to a close under the junior Kabila in 2002, and while estimates vary greatly, the death toll of the Second Congo War and the associated humanitarian disaster may have reached overthree million people by 2004. When these attacks happen, there is no reliable police force or functioning courts to hold perpetrators to account. While DRC voted in favor of a February 2023 resolution to condemn the war and demand Russian withdrawal from Ukraine, other African countries with stronger ties to Moscow abstained or voted in opposition. In May, Congo designated the M23 a terrorist group. President Tshisekedi engaged in diplomatic talks with Rwandan representatives in November, resulting in a delicate, and ultimately ineffective, cease-fire. It cited a profound level of mistrust at all levels between the DRC and its neighbors, particularly Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi, as well as between all of these neighbors. Voters queue in order to cast their ballot for the Democratic Republic of Congos general elections at a polling station in Kinshasa on December 30, 2018. The Joe Biden administration has acknowledged that Chinas virtual monopoly in DRCs mining industry plays a significant role in boosting Chinas comparative advantage in the energy and technology arenas, and is a hindrance to U.S. clean energy aspirations. The UNHCR says more than 72,000 people have been displaced by the fighting in recent weeks. Many Congolese are strongly critical of the UN mission, known as Monusco, accusing its 13,000 troops of failing to protect them against the rebels. Satellite image comparison between January 17, 2023 (left) and May 13, 2023, shows some of the new internally displaced persons camps built around Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo. The Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) conflict-affected eastern provinces are home to numerous protected areas. The Africa Center report noted there is ample evidence to suggest that Ugandan- and Rwandan-backed rebel factions including M23 control strategic but informal supply chains running from mines in the Kivus into the two countries. It said the groups use the proceeds from trafficked goods to buy weapons, recruit and control artisanal miners, and pay corrupt Congolese customs and border officials as well as soldiers and police. A church in Kitchanga, Masisi territory, damaged during attacks by the M23 in January 2023. Still, the fighting has continued, as even camps for displaced people and other civilian areas are being targeted. Those involved were imprisoned and Kabilas son, Joseph Kabila, took power. She saw a doctor at a health clinic near Goma, but said she still experiences intense pain. Even as accusations fly that Rwanda is behind the M23, the country has faced little international blowback. Ugandan officials have accused Rwanda of using M23 to thwart its efforts against ADF, the Africa Center report noted, adding that the U.N. also "has implicated Uganda with aiding M23." The agreements, however, did not address accountability for the worst human rights abusers. Numerous rebel groups have funded their occupation of the region through exploiting minerals such as tin, tungsten, tantalum and gold. Without access to education, children and . Congo fashion show hopes to inspire peace, creativity in region The UN has had a peacekeeping mission in DR Congo since 2000 and was previously limited to protecting civilians and supporting operations of the Congolese army. Are the U.N. peacekeepers free from blame? He went to the fields to get food without permission and the M23 killed him; he was 31 years old, said one. Since January 2022, some 2,100 schools in eastern Congo have had to close because of armed conflict, according to UNICEF. People sometimes seek refuge in the regions handful of cities, but these are also not exactly safe. More than six decades after he was assassinated Belgium returned the tooth, which was taken on a nine-day tour around the country before being buried. But while fighting has eased in recent months, the . The abundance of natural resourcesespecially precious mineralsfound in Congolese soil has globalized the conflict in eastern DRC. Military officials have declined to reveal the numbers of soldiers involved, citing security and strategic reasons. Since 1996, conflict in eastern DRC has approximately six million deaths. The First Congo War (19961997), began in the wake of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide, during which ethnic Hutu extremists killed an estimated one million minority ethnic Tutsis and non-extremist Hutus in Rwanda (DRCs neighbor to the east). What sparked the resurgent crisis? They told my husband to leave. The country has other minerals cobalt and coltan needed for batteries to power cellphones, other electronics and aircraft. Violence persisted in Mai-Ndombe, Kwilu and Kwango provinces, and has spread to Maluku in Kinshasa province, Ms. Pobee said. While . My mother said no, so they shot a bullet into her chest, and she died on the spot. Human Rights Watch also received credible reports of over a dozen other summary killings by M23 forces, but because of access and security constraints, could not independently corroborate them. This led to a conflict which ultimately drew in the armies from seven African states. The project includes a road connecting Gomas port on Lake Kivu with the border town of Bunagana. They came to my house in the evening on February 20. But one of those demands is that its fighters be integrated into the Congolese military, which Congos former President Joseph Kabila agreed to and which Professor Nzongola-Ntalaja said President Tshisekedi would not accept. On December 15, United States Secretary of State AntonyBlinken said that Rwandashould use its influence with M23 to encourage them to withdraw and to pull back their forces. Two of the men who managed to escape later found the wife. On July 6, the presidents of Congo and Rwanda met in Angola to discuss a situation that has been escalating for weeks. Conflict is escalating in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, home to more than 100 armed groups, including M23. The Enough Project is sounding the alarm. DRC is home to some of the worlds largest reserves of the metals and rare earth minerals that are used in the production of advanced electronics. Some of the fighting is over control of eastern DRC's vast natural resources, including diamonds, gold, copper and timber. Conflict is escalating in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, home to more than 100 armed groups, including M23. DR Congo: Killings, Rapes by Rwanda-Backed M23 Rebels Thomas Tumusifu Buregeya, 22, repairs his mother's tent at the Congo Basin camp for the internally . A fortune lies in the earth of eastern Congo: gold, coltan, tourmaline. However, the UN later approved the creation of a combat force with the mandate of carrying out targeted offensive operations to pacify armed groups in the region. Tens of thousands displaced by resurgence of fighting in eastern Congo Residents in Rugari, a locality in Rutshuru territory which the M23 captured in late October, said that the rebels burned down and destroyed between 40 and 60 houses between October and January.
