Unfriendly neighbours in the Kivus
A recent report from the UN Group of Experts accuses high-level Rwandan defence officials of backing a Congolese military coup earlier this year, which displaced 200,000 people. Known as M23, the group of mutineers has allegedly received money, political backing, manpower and weapons. The UN investigation’s findings would mean that Rwanda has been violating UN […]
Congo’s Weak Peace Process
The M23 Congolese rebel group (Guardian), widely thought to be backed by the Rwandan government, has been making significant gains in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in recent weeks. The rebels occupied the vital city of Goma for ten days in late November, but withdrew this past weekend amid mounting international pressure. The rebels were […]
Kabila in tight spot after Goma flare-up
Congo's M23 rebels have pulled back from the city of Goma but they are calling all the shots, leaving an increasingly isolated President Joseph Kabila with tough military and political challenges. The mining hub of Goma, the main city in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, fell to the rebels in November, sparking fears of yet […]
The strength of Congo’s rebel groups
As our team drives out of our Goma hotel, we are told to wait at the barrier. The police commissioner of Goma has just returned to this city. Twelve bodyguards with ray ban sunglasses, clutching semi-automatic rifles and even RPGs surround his car. As we observe the spectacle, someone says under his breath “where were […]
Bosco Ntaganda: Strongman of the eastern DRC
With fighting continuing between rival factions of the M23 rebel movement in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the RVI’s Usalama Project presents a profile of one of the M23’s most important commanders, General Bosco Ntaganda. Despite his indictment by the International Criminal Court on charges of recruiting child soldiers, murder, rape, and sexual […]
RDC : à qui profite la crise?
Radio France Internationale “Le Débat du jour”, 4 December 2012 Thomas-Daquin Muiti, président de la Société Civile du Nord-Kivu en direct de RDC Aloys Tegera, directeur de recherche au Pôle Institut de Goma Jason Stearns, directeur du Projet Usalama pour The Rift Valley Institute
French translations of Ituri and UPC reports
On 13 March 2013, RVI published French editions of the Usalama Project’s latest reports on armed groups in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). L’UPC en Ituri: la militarisation externe de la politique locale dans le nord-est du Congo, by Henning Tamm, describes the origins and activities of the mainly Hema Union of Congolese […]
No easy fix for Congo’s lingering woes
If recent events in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo seem familiar, it is because in many ways they are. History is repeating itself – as it tends to in places where deep-seated problems are left to fester. The chaos threatening to engulf the region provides a salutary reminder that while, on many fronts, the […]
Los rebeldes en Congo amenazan con hacerse con la capital
Un nuevo grupo rebelde – M23 – han sacudido Congo, al gobierno congoleño, los países vecinos y la comunidad internacional. Ahora amenaza con dirigirse hacia la capital del país, Kinshasa. Más de 500.000 personas se han visto desplazadas en su propio país, la ciudad más grande e importante del este del Congo – Goma – […]
Congo Rebels Prepare Goma Withdrawal as U.S. Presses Rwanda
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s M23 rebel group said it’s preparing to withdraw from Goma, a day after saying any pull-out would be conditional on President Joseph Kabila’s government meeting a series of demands. The renegade fighters plan to move 20 kilometers (12 miles) outside Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, as requested by […]