{"id":12539,"date":"2025-01-29T11:38:38","date_gmt":"2025-01-29T11:38:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/29\/violence-erupts-in-mineral-rich-dr-congo-as-rebels-move-into-key-city-heres-what-we-know\/"},"modified":"2025-01-29T11:38:38","modified_gmt":"2025-01-29T11:38:38","slug":"violence-erupts-in-mineral-rich-dr-congo-as-rebels-move-into-key-city-heres-what-we-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/29\/violence-erupts-in-mineral-rich-dr-congo-as-rebels-move-into-key-city-heres-what-we-know\/","title":{"rendered":"Violence erupts in mineral-rich DR Congo as rebels move into key city. Here\u2019s what we know"},"content":{"rendered":"

A rebel alliance claimed the capture of the biggest city in the Democratic Republic of Congo\u2019s mineral-rich eastern region this week, pushing back against resistance from government troops backed by regional and UN intervention forces. <\/p>\n

The takeover of Goma is yet another territorial gain for the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC) rebel coalition, which includes the M23 armed group \u2013 sanctioned by the United States and the United Nations. <\/p>\n

It is also a swift expansion of the alliance\u2019s foothold across swathes of eastern DR Congo \u2013 where rare minerals crucial to the production of phones and computers are mined \u2013 and is likely to worsen a long-running humanitarian crisis in the region. <\/p>\n

More than a dozen foreign peacekeepers, as well as the military governor of North Kivu province, have been killed in recent days trying to fend off the rebels, as thousands of locals flee their advance into Goma. <\/p>\n

What are the latest developments?<\/h2>\n

South Africa\u2019s military confirmed Tuesday that four more South African soldiers deployed in DR Congo as part of the UN peacekeeping mission there had died, only days after nine were killed in the fighting. <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, aid agencies said that hospitals were overwhelmed as hundreds of people caught in the crossfire in Goma sought treatment for injuries, among them seriously wounded children. <\/p>\n

There were \u201cmany dead bodies\u201d in the city\u2019s streets, said Jens Laerke, a spokesperson for the UN humanitarian office. Fighters had reportedly raped civilians, and property had also been looted, he said. Among those killed was a famed Congolese boxer, Balezi Bagunda, according to Matthew Leutwyler, the founder of the non-profit We Are Limitless<\/em>, who had been working with him to evacuate local children the organization works with. <\/p>\n

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<\/div>\n
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People protest in Kinshasa against the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels’ advances on Tuesday.<\/span> <\/div>
Samy Ntumba Shambuyi\/AP<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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People attack the Rwandan Embassy in Kinshasa on Tuesday.<\/span> <\/div>
Samy Ntumba Shambuyi\/AP<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Reports emerged Monday of Congolese troops exchanging fire with Rwandan soldiers along their shared border as fear of a blown-out war grows. <\/p>\n

In a statement Monday, the Uruguayan army, whose troops are part of the UN peacekeeping mission in Goma, said \u201chundreds\u201d of Congolese soldiers had laid down their weapons following a 48-hour ultimatum by M23. <\/p>\n

Rwandan national broadcaster also shared footage of Congolese soldiers surrendering their arms to Rwandan forces at a Rwandan border post after fleeing Goma. <\/p>\n

How did the conflict escalate?<\/h2>\n

DR Congo has experienced decades of militia violence, including armed rebellion by M23, which claims to defend the interest of the minority Rwandophone communities, including the Tutsi. <\/p>\n

Since 2022, M23 has waged a renewed rebellion against the Congolese government, occupying a large expanse in North Kivu, which borders Rwanda and Uganda. <\/p>\n

For several months, the rebels have also controlled Rubaya, a mining town in North Kivu that harbors one of the world\u2019s largest coltan deposits. This valuable mineral is used in the production of mobile phones. <\/p>\n

Bintou Keita, who heads the UN mission in DR Congo, told the Security Council in a September briefing that \u201ccompetition over exploitation and trade of natural resources\u201d had escalated conflict between armed groups in the country\u2019s east. <\/p>\n

According to Keita, coltan trade from the M23-controlled Rubaya mining site is estimated to \u201csupply over 15 percent of global tantalum production\u201d,<\/s> and \u201cgenerates an estimated $300,000 in revenue per month to the armed group.\u201d <\/p>\n

M23 denied these claims, insisting its presence in the Rubaya area was \u201csolely humanitarian.\u201d <\/p>\n

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Miners work at a coltan mine, near Rubaya, in DR Congo’s North Kivu region, on April 12, 2023.<\/span> <\/div>
Veronique de Viguerie\/Paris Match\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Miners work to extract coltan at a mine, near Rubaya, in DR Congo’s North Kivu region, on April 12, 2023.<\/span> <\/div>
Veronique de Viguerie\/Paris Match\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

A report by the UN Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of Congo, released in December, revealed that \u201cat least 150 tons of coltan were fraudulently exported to Rwanda and mixed with Rwandan production.\u201d <\/p>\n

Since April last year, the report said, M23, \u201cwith RDF (Rwanda Defence Force) support, has made significant territorial gains and strengthened control over occupied areas,\u201d adding that such a pattern suggested \u201cthat the true objective of M23 remained territorial expansion and the long-term occupation and exploitation of conquered territories.\u201d <\/p>\n

The report added that the RDF\u2019s military interventions \u201cwere critical to the impressive territorial expansion achieved\u201d by M23. <\/p>\n

Why is Goma important?<\/h2>\n

Goma is home to around two million people and is the largest city in North Kivu. M23\u2019s incursion on Monday was the second time the group had <\/s>moved to capture the provincial capital after it briefly took control in 2012. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe do not want to capture Goma but to liberate it,\u201d he said. \u201cThe population is in distress; we must save it as quickly as possible.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cGoma is a strategic and highly symbolic city with an international airport, as well as proximity to Rwanda and Lake Kivu, opening the easy path with South Kivu,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

But, most importantly, Saleh said, Goma\u2019s fall to M23 \u201cwill be the symbol of its complete and total capture\u201d of the eastern part of the DRC.\u201d <\/p>\n

M23\u2019s self-proclaimed liberation agenda has been scarred by a long trail of alleged human rights violations and what rights group Human Rights Watch described in 2023 as \u201cwar crimes against civilians\u201d in North Kivu. The group has consistently denied such claims. <\/p>\n

Fighting between M23, Congolese forces and other rebel groups has also forced many from their homes in the country\u2019s east, with at least 400,000 people displaced just since the beginning of this year in North and South Kivu, the UN\u2019s refugee agency, UNHCR said in a statement. <\/p>\n

UNHCR spokesperson Matt Saltmarsh added that \u201cbombs have fallen\u201d on camps housing those who\u2019ve fled, resulting in civilian deaths, including of children. <\/p>\n

\u201cHumanitarian access is nearly impossible, resources are stretched to their limits, and displaced families are left in dire need of food, clean water, medicine, and shelter,\u201d Tchwenko said. <\/p>\n

What\u2019s at stake for Rwanda?<\/h2>\n

UN experts believe that an estimated 3,000 Rwandan soldiers operate alongside M23 fighters in eastern DR Congo, outnumbering the rebel group\u2019s number in the country. <\/p>\n

According to Saleh, the Congolese analyst, Rwanda does not just support M23, \u201cit (Rwanda) is the M23.\u201d <\/p>\n

Western nations, such as the US, Britain, and France, have censured Kigali\u2019s support for the group. <\/p>\n

She cited a UN report that found evidence DR Congo\u2019s military had collaborated and carried out joint operations with a Hutu militia group <\/s>against a mainly Tutsi rebel group, the CNDP, which M23 grew out of. <\/p>\n

Hutu militias carried out the genocide of Tutsis and moderate Hutus in Rwanda in 1994. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is happening right next to our border,\u201d Makolo said of the insecurity in eastern DR Congo, adding that \u201cthe President of the DRC has said publicly that his enemy is President (Paul) Kagame and the Rwandan Government, and that he will \u2018liberate\u2019 Rwandans.\u201d <\/p>\n

Rwanda\u2019s foreign ministry also blamed DR Congo\u2019s government for failing to engage in dialogue with M23, describing it as a \u201cCongolese rebel group fighting to protect their community in eastern DRC.\u201d <\/p>\n

Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi has previously threatened to go to war with Rwanda. Rwandan leader Kagame has responded in kind. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are ready to fight,\u201d Kagame told French network France 24 in June last year, adding: \u201cWe are not afraid of anything.\u201d <\/p>\n

When the UN Security Council convened on Sunday for an emergency meeting on the crisis, DR Congo\u2019s foreign minister Th\u00e9r\u00e8se Kayikwamba Wagner said Rwanda\u2019s role in the conflict was \u201ca declaration of war that no longer hides itself behind diplomatic maneuvers.\u201d <\/p>\n

Is there a route to peace?<\/h2>\n

Eastern African leaders plan to convene an emergency meeting within 48 hours to find solutions to the crisis, Kenya\u2019s President William Ruto said Monday, urging Tshisekedi and Kagame \u201cto heed the call for peace.\u201d <\/p>\n

Previous interventions led by Angola, including truce agreements, have failed to cease hostilities. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut it is rather the quality of the solutions in sight that is the real question,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe region needs a lasting solution to the security situation, and to achieve this, one of the conditions is that the DRC must be able to ensure its security and control its economy. <\/s>Solutions in terms of power-sharing, tribal and ethnic integration are not a lasting solution.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

This post appeared first on cnn.com<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A rebel alliance claimed the capture of the biggest city in the Democratic Republic of Congo\u2019s mineral-rich eastern region this week, pushing back against resistance from government troops backed by regional and UN intervention forces. The takeover of Goma is yet another territorial gain for the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC) rebel coalition, which includes the <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12540,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-12539","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12539","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12539"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12539\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12540"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12539"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12539"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12539"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}