The Take: What’s behind the armed conflict in eastern DR Congo?

Thousands of Congolese civilians flee their homes as fighting escalates between government forces and M23 rebel group.

Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo is rich in resources, from gold and diamonds to coltan, used to power mobile phones. It is also the site of recent heavy fighting between government forces and the rebel group, M23, and whoever emerges on top will have control of the region’s wealth. But trapped in the middle are Congolese civilians. As the fighting intensifies, where will they go?

In this episode: 

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Fahrinisa Campana and Sarí el-Khalili with our host, Malika Bilal. Chloe K Li and Sarí el-Khalili fact-checked this episode.