What is happening in Congo and why are M23 rebels fighting?

The rebels entered Goma, the superior of North Kivu province, connected January 27 nighttime and had seized power of the city’s airdrome by January 28 evening, aft facing pockets of absorption successful strategical areas. Hundreds of authorities troops and allied militia laid down their weapons.
By January 30 morning, the rebels were successful power of the devastated city, wherever corpses inactive laic successful the streets.

Since then, M23 fighters person pushed southwards into South Kivu, battling the Congolese service and its allies including Burundian troops, sources said. The United Nations connected Thursday besides cited reports of Rwandan troops crossing the borderline into South Kivu.

The engagement of Burundian and Rwandan troops connected the crushed has added to fears the warring could spiral into a determination conflict.

What are M23 rebels?

M23, which refers to the March 23, 2009, accord that ended a erstwhile Tutsi-led revolt successful eastbound Congo, is the latest radical of taste Tutsi-led insurgents to instrumentality up arms against Congolese forces. It launched the existent rebellion successful 2022.

The radical has accused the authorities of Congo of not surviving up to the bid woody and afloat integrating Congolese Tutsis into the service and administration.

It besides vows to support Tutsi interests, peculiarly against taste Hutu militias specified arsenic the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR). The FDLR was founded by Hutus who fled Rwanda aft participating successful the 1994 genocide of adjacent to 1 cardinal Tutsis and mean Hutus.

Advances into caller territory by M23 rebels since the commencement of the twelvemonth person prompted hundreds of thousands much radical to fly their homes. For much than a year, M23 has controlled Congo’s coltan-mining portion of Rubaya, generating an estimated $800,000 per period done a accumulation tax, according to the UN. Coltan is utilized successful the accumulation of smartphones and different equipment.

Why is Rwanda involved?

The authorities of Congo, UN officials and Western powers including the United States person accused Congo’s neighbour Rwanda of fuelling the struggle by deploying thousands of its ain troops and dense weapons connected Congolese ungraded successful enactment of M23. The accusations are based connected a 2022 study by a UN radical of experts that said it had “solid evidence” that Rwandan troops had been warring alongside the M23 rebels. According to Rwandan President Paul Kagame’s government, which denies backing the rebels, it has taken what it calls antiaircraft measures and accuses Congo of warring alongside the FDLR, which has attacked Tutsis successful some countries.