I was going to post about this in the existing big Africa thread but this wretched conflict has been going on for what, over 20 years? So it surely deserves its own (with the qualifier that this has primarily been occuring in Eastern DR Congo (Kivu region specifically), bordering Uganda/Rwanda/Burundi)
That's the problem, DR Congo absolutely does not have the military or logistical capability to force matters in the eastern part of the country, which is as distinct a place from Kinshasa (DR Congo's capital) as Portugal is from Ukraine. It is infuriating how much of a failed state it is compared to neighboring states with fewer resources
Is there a summary available of what's led to this?
How much time do you have?
Abbreviated summary: So in the latter days of Mobutu's reign and looting of DR Congo, the Rwandan genocide happened (1994). Eventually Kagame and his Tutsi forces were able to invade Rwanda and stop the genocide, but the Hutu genocidiares and a ton of refugees fled Rwanda across the border into DR Congo's east, and the genocidiares (not exactly apologetic) continued to pose a threat to Rwanda and Kagame. Plus, they got support from Mobutu. Rwandan forces started to move across the border to confront the genocidiares and force the refugees to move back to Rwanda, but they also allied with some of Mobutu's Congolese adversaries and just kept pushing deeper and deeper into DR Congo until they reached Kinshasa, forcing the fall of Mobutu.
Then Rwanda discovered that Eastern Congo was full of mineral resources, so why not maintain a sphere of influence over the region next to it and take a slice of the mining profits, and ensure that there remains a buffer between Rwanda and DR Congo?
So with DR Congo unable to exert any power in Eastern Congo, a power vacuum formed, filled by local groups vying for control of the resources, and the civilians are unfortunately caught between the violence. And this has been going on for over 20 years. That's the backdrop to current events
One of these groups is M23, and several organizations have linked them to Rwanda (equivalent would be Wagner to Russia). Officially, they claim they are protecting the interests of local Tutsi (the lines drawn in Berlin at that conference were arbitrary so you have native Tutsis in DR Congo as well) against another group (FDLR) comprised of Hutus including genocidiares from 1994 (yep still alive and thriving). Unofficially and realistically? They are a covert arm of Rwanda and Kagame specifically to maintain Rwanda's silent fiefdom in Eastern Congo.
In recent months they've been able to take over territory culminating in the fall of Goma.
I'm not sure what can be done about the situation. Yes, the US and others can force Rwanda (and Uganda) to stop meddling about in the region, however once they withdraw, there is going to be a power vacuum DR Congo is simply incapable of filling due to it being a failed state, and the alternative will just be local groups fighting each other for little more than the right to tax raw coltan loaded onto a dodgy plane going to Belarus, and it can't be emphasized enough how the civilians on ground are the real losers. sexual assault, disease, lost limbs and lives... It's hell.
