What do you know about fighting in Dr. Congo: NPR

Guma, the Democratic Republic of the Congo – on Monday, the rebels M23, with the support of the Rwandan forces, the city of Juma, entered the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. They now took control of the city, and on Thursday, at the first press conference, they announced that they were “here to stay.”

They raised the possibility of more expansion in the lands under their control. The government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo described the acquisition as a “declaration of war” by neighboring Rwanda.

Goma, the regional axis of more than 2 million people, is on the borders of the Democratic Republic of the Congo with Rwanda. The city has suffered a decline and violence for three decades – side effects in the conflicts that exploded in the eastern Congo after the Rwandan genocide in 1994.

The seizure of Juma is a dramatic coronation of more than three years of conflict in the Northern Kivu province. M23 is now threatening a march “along the way to Kinshasa”, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in a conflict that can have seismic traces in Central Africa. Here what to know.

What is M23?

M23 is one of dozens of active armed groups in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the militias planted chaos for more than three decades.

The conflict is a legacy of the multi -stage wars played in the Congo after the 1994 Rwandan genocide, where up to one million people, especially from the ethnic tutsi group, was killed by Huto extremists. Tutsi rebels led by current Rwandan President Paul Kajami put an end to killing, and many Huto perpetrators fled across the border to the Congo.

M23, or March 23 Movement, indicates the date of a previous peace agreement that the group claims that the Congolese government has failed to honor it. The rebel group, led by the Congolese Tutsi leaders, which was formed in 2012 and is a successor to the previous Tots -led rebellions. Guma briefly acquired the same year before his expulsion.

Poorly poor, but rich in minerals used in electronics and mobile phones, Eastern Congo is ethnic. Many militias have assets in specific local societies.

People rush to shop in the center of Goma, the Congo, on Thursday, after the M23 rebels advanced to the capital of the Eastern Congo.

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After years of lying, the M23 re -launched its rebellion in northern Kivu in late 2021, as it seized lands, including the main boundaries crossing to Uganda. By January 2022, he was often surrounded by Jama, leaving a pocket of government -controlled lands throughout the city.

The conflict was involved and flowing, with the rebels pushing the north. This month, it expanded to the neighboring south of Kivu. She completed the encouragement of Guma and started pushing inside the city.

What do the rebels want?

M23 leaders say they are fighting to protect ethnic minorities from the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which they accuse of stirring up hate speech and discrimination. Another major demand is the return of Congolese Tutsi refugees, many of whom live in Uganda and Rwanda, to the Congo.

However, the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo considers M23 a “doll” of Rwandan interests. President Felix Chisikde Pledge to recover. “We will fight and win,” he said in a speech to the nation on Wednesday evening.

Congolese miners carry out ground rocks to separate the casserite, which is the main raw processed in tin, in the town of Nepoy, east of the Congo, 2012.

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With its large wealth reserves, the area provides other opportunities for the rebels. With Goma capture, M23 can now reach a major border city and a critical metal smuggling road to Rwanda. A 2024 United Nations Report It is estimated that the rebels have smuggled at least 150 metric tons of the two colors – used in electronics – in Rwanda last year.

How do you share Rwanda?

Rwanda provides financial support to M23, according to Several reports By an independent committee of United Nations experts. They have forces in northern Kivu – Up to 4000According to the reports of the United Nations Committee – its special forces are supervised by the M23 units. Done -aircraft pictures of the border crossing the M23 -controlled lands for years.

Rwanda has also deployed high -tech military equipment in the battlefield in northern Kivu, including mobile air defense systems and accurate guided ammunition.

The United Nations, including Security Council members such as the United States, France and the United Kingdom, agree that the Rwandan forces operate in the Congo. However, the Rwanda government did not publicly recognize participation.

Rwanda says the conflict has deeper roots that must be addressed. They claim that the militias, like the democratic forces of the liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a rebel group of Huto, which includes some of those responsible for the Rwandan genocide, are still active in the east of the Congo. Rwanda accuses the Congolese army of fighting alongside them, an accusation that denies the Congolese.

People who crossed from the Congo are waiting for help in Jessini, Rwanda, on Tuesday, following the progress of the M23 rebels in the Eastern Republic of the Congo.

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What is at stake?

the Human influence From the M23 conflict it was huge. More than a million people have been displaced over the years, with hundreds of thousands of camping in harsh conditions on the outskirts of Guma. Sexual violence, hunger and disease suffer from camps, despite the efforts of relief groups.

The conflict is now threatening the dates, and raising the specter of restarting the two Congo wars – between 1996, 1997 and 1998 and the early first decade of the twentieth century – which is estimated by various researchers. 3 million to more than 5 million Deaths. Through them Two wars, Nine African countries and about 20 armed groups fought each other, with the second Congo war in particular, considered one of the bloodiest conflicts in history.

What next?

The M23 and RWANDAN forces are moving beyond the South Kivu province, according to local reports on the ground. United Nations Others are concerned that there may be a step in the city of Bocafo, which is also on the Rwandan border.

The government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has repeatedly called for international sanctions against Rwanda for its support M23. So far, African and international diplomacy had no little impact.

Foreign Minister Marco Rubio, President of Rwanda Kagami, told the United States.Very troubled”Through fighting, the two countries, including the United Kingdom and Germany, threatened to cancel aid to Rwanda. But the fighting is still ongoing.