A crossfire in Goma commences hours after Rwanda-backed M23 rebels said they had seized it despite the United Nations Security Council calling for an end to the offensive. Image: Al Jazeera.
(The Post News)– The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been infested by conflict since the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Numerous armed groups have competed with the central authorities for power and control of its mineral fortune.
The Rwandan genocide ended through the advanced forces of Tutsi-led rebels commanded by now-presiding President Paul Kagame. In the fear of revenge, an estimated one million Hutus fled across the border to what is now the DR Congo. This sparked ethnic tensions as the marginalised Tutsi group in the east felt increasingly under threat.
A Tutsi rebel group called the M23 was formed in 2012 with the mandate to take up arms to protect the rights of the minority Tutsi group in the east. Shortly after its creation, the M23 rapidly gained territory and seized Goma—a major city of more than a million people in the east of DRC. Sitting on the border with Rwanda and the shores of Lake Kivu, Goma is a vital trading and transport hub, which is in proximity with mining towns that supply metals and minerals in great demand, including gold, tin, and coltan.
The M23 coup strategies were met with international defamation and accusations of war crimes and human rights violations. After a series of heavy defeats at the hands of the Congolese army and United Nations (UN) force, the M23 were expelled from the country, breaking an agreement that was reached that M23 fighters would be integrated into the army, and in return the Tutsis were promised protection. However, in 2021 the M23 took up arms again in protest of broken promises.
Although Rwanda has consistently denied its support of the M23, since 2012 UN experts have accused it of providing weapons, logistical support, and even instructions to the rebels. In 2024, a UN experts report suggested that up to 4,000 Rwandan troops were fighting together with the M23. Over time, the DR Congo’s government, as well as the U.S. and France, have identified Rwanda as a supporter of the rebel group.
Rwanda stated in a statement on Sunday that the violence along its border posed a “serious threat” to its security and integrity, without specifically denying that it supported the M23. It further claimed that Rwanda was being used as a scapegoat and attributed the latest bloodshed to Congolese authorities who had declined to engage in negotiations with the M23. The mineral-rich DR Congo currently finds itself in a humanitarian crisis with hospitals overwhelmed by casualties and bodies lying on the streets.
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