Intense fighting in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has prompted United Nations aid agencies to warn of a major humanitarian crisis, as hospitals are overwhelmed with casualties and bodies are left lying in the streets of Goma. Following a swift advance, fighters from the M23 rebel group have seized control of that city.
Goma is a major city with a population exceeding one million. Located on the border with Rwanda and along the shores of Lake Kivu, it serves as a significant trading and transport hub, close to mining towns that supply high-demand metals and minerals such as gold, tin and coltan. Coltan is a crucial component in mobile phones and batteries for electric vehicles.
The bishop of Goma, the Most Rev. Willy Ngumbi Ngengele, said in a statement on Jan. 27 that he is “horrified to learn of the bombings, including those targeting the neonatal department of the Charité Maternelle General Hospital, resulting in the deaths of newborns,” as well as “the attack on the diocesan procuracy compound, which shattered the windows of the newly inaugurated building.”
Bishop Ngengele condemned the looting of shops and warehouses by civilians and the military, saying that it is “worsening an already dire humanitarian situation.” He urged everyone involved in the current conflict to respect human life and preserve private and public infrastructure. The bishop also urged “the clergy, consecrated persons, as well as the faithful, and all people of good will, to provide the necessary assistance to anyone in need.”
Approximately six million people have died in the conflict in the eastern D.R.C. since 1996. For decades, numerous armed groups have competed for power and control of this vast nation’s potential fortune. Currently, the most prominent group is the so-called M23 rebel group—which D.R.C. government officials (and various U.N. experts) allege is backed by neighboring Rwanda. The group is also believed to have connections with the Ugandan government.
The M23—the March 23 Movement—is named for the date in 2009 when an accord was signed between the National Congress for the Defense of the People, a Tutsi-led rebel group, and the Congolese government to end a revolt led by the Tutsi people in the eastern D.R.C.
In 2022, M23 rebels, with support from Rwanda and Uganda, re-emerged after nine years of inactivity, gaining control of large parts of North Kivu province by July 2023. The D.R.C. and several foreign governments have repeatedly accused Rwanda of funding and supporting the resurgence of M23.
In turn, Rwandan officials accuse the D.R.C. government in the capital city of Kinshasa of backing Hutu extremist militias like the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda. Rwanda maintains a substantial military presence in the eastern D.R.C. and along the border the two countries share. Both Rwanda and Uganda, along with the militias they support, have financial interests in Congolese mines.
A source in the D.R.C., who asked to remain anonymous because he is involved in bringing the various parties to the negotiation table, told America that Rwanda “wants to be the Singapore of Africa.... It is not a very big country, and so they seek to exploit mining in the eastern D.R.C. to achieve this ambition.”
The source in the D.R.C. said that Rwanda has “established a very professional army with the support of the U.S.A. and the U.K.” That Rwandan army has established a presence in northern Mozambique and Central Africa that is, according to the source, quietly supported by Western governments.
The source said that the region’s bishops have long worked on mediation efforts between the warring parties, but these efforts have not succeeded: “The bishops of the D.R.C. are attempting to bring people to the table, but the church is ignored.”
“Rwanda must be subjected to significant pressure, as [it depends] heavily on foreign aid,” he said. In 2023, he said, the Biden administration persuaded the Rwandan government]to agree to a cease-fire and engage in peace negotiations. But, he added, both Rwanda and the rebels have taken advantage of the change in administration in Washington, quickly moving to seize Goma.
The source points out that the Rwandan military has received training and funding from the United States, “which establishes a [U.S.] responsibility…to assist in ending this conflict.”
Over seven million displaced
The whole region’s stability is at stake, and the humanitarian conditions have hit crisis proportions.
Over seven million people have been internally displaced due to the ongoing threat of violence, along with extreme poverty and the expansion of mining, particularly in the provinces of North Kivu, Ituri and South Kivu. Since the beginning of 2024, nearly 358,000 individuals have been displaced in the D.R.C., with 80 percent of this suffering attributed to armed conflict.
U.N.-verified data also reveals that there was a 30 percent increase in “grave violations” against children in the eastern D.R.C. during the first quarter of 2024 compared with the last three months of 2023. A staggering 23.4 million Congolese suffer from food insecurity, making the D.R.C. the country most affected by food insecurity globally.
The displaced population urgently requiresprotection from violence, medical assistance and other humanitarian aid. Approximately 1.1 million Congolese nationals are seeking refuge beyond the borders of the Congo.
The leaders of the Southern African Development Community, an intergovernmental organization promoting regional economic development, peace and security, recently convened an emergency meeting in Harare, Zimbabwe. They called for an immediate summit of S.A.D.C. and the East African Community to work out a way forward that might end the conflict in the D.R.C. and Rwanda.
Rwanda officials dismissed accusations at the S.A.D.C. meeting that the Rwandan army and M23 jointly attacked the government forces of the D.R.C., peacekeepers and the civilian population in North Kivu. Rwanda stated it was defending its borders and protecting civilians, not attacking them.
A diplomatic row also erupted between South Africa and Rwanda after South African soldiers, as part of a peacekeeping force, were killed on Jan. 29 by M23 rebels. In a statement, the president of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, appeared to blame Rwanda for their deaths.
The president of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, hit back on X, saying, “If South Africa wants to contribute to peaceful solutions, that is well and good, but South Africa is in no position to take on the role of a peacemaker or mediator. And if South Africa prefers confrontation, Rwanda will deal with the matter in that context any day.”
Effects of the Rwandan genocide
The conflict in the eastern D.R.C. has roots in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, when Hutu extremists killed about one million Tutsis and moderate Hutus.
Subsequently, two million Hutu refugees fled to Congo, notably settling in North and South Kivu. Among these refugees were Hutu extremists who formed militias in the D.R.C. Meanwhile, the Rwandan Patriotic Front gained power in Rwanda, leading to a Tutsi-led government under President Paul Kagame.
Accusing Zaire (now the D.R.C.) of harboring these Hutu extremists, Rwanda, alongside D.R.C.-based Tutsi militias, invaded Zaire. This invasion was supported by Zaire’s opposition leader, Laurent Kabila, resulting in massive casualties, particularly affecting refugees and Congolese civilians.
In 1997, after President Mobutu Sese Seko fled Zaire, Mr. Kabila became president of the newly renamed D.R.C., but this did not bring lasting peace. Mr. Kabila distanced himself from Rwanda to counter the impression that the latter had power over him. This led to a Rwandan invasion in 1998.
Mr. Kabila was assassinated in 2001, and his son, Joseph Kabila, ascended to power. By 2002, a peace agreement was reached involving Rwanda, Uganda and the D.R.C., and former Tutsi militias joined the national army. However, stability was short-lived when a faction of the Tutsi militia mutinied in 2008/2009, forming the M23 rebellion in 2012.
This rebellion was eventually defeated in 2013 with assistance from the national army, Southern African Development Community (S.A.D.C.), and U.N. forces, leading M23 to exile in Uganda and Rwanda.
