What is happening in the DRC? | Explained

Crisis in the DRC as M23 militia captures Goma, fueled by ethnic tensions and mineral resources.

The story so far:

The crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is back in the spotlight after the M23 militia, backed by eastern neighbour Rwanda, captured the mineral-rich city of Goma, which lies on the border between the two countries. UN estimates suggest that the fighting, which began in January, has taken the lives of more than 2,900 people, displaced close to 7,00,000 and injured many more. Since then, clashes have spread to the south of the border with the rebels eyeing Bukavu, the capital of the South Kivu province — another resource-rich region that is situated in the east of the DRC.

While the root cause of the crisis is generally attributed to the 1994 Rwandan genocide, the region has been beset with conflict between the Hutus and Tutsis since colonial times; so much so that some 1,50,000 Tutsis had migrated to neighbouring countries even before Rwanda’s independence from Belgium in 1962. Imperialist powers such as Germany and Belgium ruled over Rwanda through a Tutsi monarchy in which local administrative roles were occupied by members of the Tutsis, who were a minority there, ensuring better prospects for the group. This did not sit well with the Hutus who eventually called for a ‘revolution’ in 1959, costing the lives of some 20,000 Tutsis. Consequently, King Kigeli V fled, and a Hutu regime came to power. Further solidifying the group’s grip on power were the elections of 1960 conducted by Belgian officials, in which Hutus emerged victorious in local communes. Two years later, the country proclaimed independence and got its first President in Grégoire Kayibanda.

With Hutus at the helm, there was systematic repression of the Tutsis. This led to the formation of the Tutsi rebel group, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), which launched a civil war in 1990.

The war reached its inflection point in April 1994, when an aircraft carrying Rwandan President Juvenal Habriyamana and his Burundi counterpart Cyprien Ntarynira — two Hutus — was shot down. Blaming the RPF for the attack, the Rwandan military and the Hutu Interahamwe militia went on a rampage, murdering almost 8,000 people per day. By the time the campaign ended 100 days later, some 8,00,000 Tutsis and a moderate number of Hutus had been killed. The genocide ended only after an RPF reprisal emerged victorious in July 1994. Paul Kagambe, one of the leaders of the uprising, was elected President of Rwanda in 2000 and has occupied the post ever since.

As a result of the killings, some two million Hutus, including the perpetrators, crossed into the eastern region of the DRC, then called Zaire. Today, the region comprises more than 120 armed groups such as the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), claiming to fight for the Hutus, and the M23, which claims to represent the interests of the Tutsis.

After the genocide, Rwandan troops invaded Congo, first in 1996 and then in 1998 — dubbed Africa’s World Wars. The war of 1996, called the First Congo War, resulted in the country being renamed the Democratic Republic of Congo and witnessed the overthrow of longtime ruler Mobutu Sese Seko. The next battle, known as the Second Congo War, came about as President Laurent-Désiré Kabila turned against allies Rwanda and Uganda. The fighting eventually ballooned into one of the biggest battles on the continent after nine countries and 25 armed groups joined in. It ended only in 2003 after having killed five million from battle, disease and starvation.