A guide to the decades-long conflict in DR Congo | News

July 2024 · 11 minute read

The resource-rich country, now facing a major rebel attack, has been racked by conflict for more than 30 years.

Escalating tensions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have once again drawn global attention to the security crisis in the African country’s mineral-rich eastern region.

Heavy fighting between the Congolese armed forces (FARDC) and the M23 rebel group in the country’s troubled North Kivu province has forced thousands of civilians to flee their homes in the past two weeks, taking what little they can. Dozens have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced since January.

There are fears that the regional capital, Goma – home to some two million people and about half a million displaced people seeking refuge there – could soon fall to an advancing M23, a potentially devastating blow to the Congolese government’s control of the region.

The UN Security Council voiced concern at the “escalating violence” after M23 shelled Goma airport, damaging Congolese military aircraft.

Racked by conflict for more than 30 years, the DRC’s insecurity is caused by complex and deep-seated factors, as well as a multitude of actors. Apart from the M23, numerous other armed groups, Congolese and foreign forces are battling for control, mostly in the eastern part of the country. Some of Kinshasa’s neighbours are also implicated in the crisis.

Approximately six million people have been killed since 1996 and more than six million people remain internally displaced in eastern DRC.

Here’s a guide to the decades-old conflict in the country:Interactive_DRC_timeline of the conflict_REVISED

How did the 1994 Rwandan genocide affect the DRC?

What led to the First Congo War of 1996-1997?

What caused the 1998-2003 Second Congo War?

How did M23 and other major rebel groups emerge?

The most active armed groups at the moment are the M23, CODECO, and ADF.

M23: Operating in North Kivu province, the group takes its name from the March 23 Agreement of 2009 when the DRC government, under President Joseph Kabila — son of Laurent-Désiré Kabila — signed a ceasefire treaty with the Tutsi-majority National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP), one of the numerous groups of fighters active since the Second Congo War. In the agreement, the CNDP was meant to become a political party and its fighters were to integrate into the Congolese military, FARDC.

However, on April 4, 2012, 300 CNDP troops revolted, complaining of poor treatment in the army. They formed the M23, claiming to be fighting for Tutsis’ rights in the DRC. In late 2012, M23 launched an offensive, seizing Goma and several other towns. A special UN force along with FARDC pushed the rebels back into the eastern hills on the border with Rwanda in 2013.

M23 resurfaced in 2022 with violent attacks and has seized at least four towns in North Kivu. The group briefly withdrew from occupied towns in January 2023 as part of the Nairobi Peace Process, but the ceasefire fell apart in October. The DRC accuses Rwanda of funding M23. A 2023 UN Group of Experts report also found that Kigali finances the group. Rwanda denies the allegations.

ADF: Originally from Uganda, the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) also operates in the eastern DRC, in the regions bordering Uganda. The group initially claimed to be fighting for an Islamic state in Uganda where Muslims make up a minority of between 15 and 35 percent. It’s not clear what boundaries the reclusive ADF wants to claim, but the group first settled in Buseruka, western Uganda, before it was pushed back into the DRC. But it has recruited along secular lines over the years. Formed in 1996, during the First Congo War, it used a weak DRC as its base to launch attacks into Uganda. Ugandan troops used their presence in the DRC during the two wars to attack ADF fighters. The group went dormant in 2001 and resurfaced in 2013. It’s now reportedly linked to the ISIL (ISIS) armed group.

CODECO: The Cooperative for Development of the Congo (CODECO) was formed in 1999 during the Second Congo War, and operates in eastern Ituri. It was initially an agricultural cooperative but started to advocate for the Lendu ethnic group, who believed they were unfairly dominated by the rival Hema ethnic group. After a period of dormancy, CODECO launched offensives in 2017 and has continued to attack local civilians and Congolese forces. In February 2024, CODECO ambushed civilians, killing 15 people believed to be Hema in a likely continuation of the rivalry. The group has also targeted gold mines in recent weeks.

Other actors: Also operating are several pro-government militias and “Mai Mai” vigilante groups jointly called the Wazalendos, fighting with the Congolese Army. Some 40,000 Wazalendos have undergone military training since 2022, when current President Felix Tshisekedi called for young Congolese to help defend the country.

There’s also the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), an ethnic Hutu group active since the final years of the Second Congo War and backed by the Congolese Army, according to a UN Experts Group report. Some of its leaders took part in the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

FDLR, FARDC and Wazalendos have carried out extrajudicial civilian killings, sexual assaults and exploited local communities, Human Rights Watch said in 2022.

What’s the legacy of UN and regional peacekeepers?

What’s the impact of mining on the conflict??

How is the conflict affecting Kigali-Kinshasa relationships?

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