On the brink of a major war: Rwanda and DR Congo fight over resources
Armed conflict has erupted in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) bordering Rwanda. The situation has already been uneasy since the 1994 Rwandan genocide, when some 1 million ethnic Tutsis were killed, but has now worsened. Rebels from Congolese group M23, who are backed by Rwanda, have taken over the city of Goma, the capital of North Kivu province with a population of 2 million. Izvestia looked into how this will affect the interests of different players in the region.
Capture of the city of Goma
Rebels from the M23 group in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo have occupied the key city of the country - Goma. According to local residents, the sounds of gunfire can be heard in the settlement, soldiers are everywhere, and many neighborhoods are without light and water.
According to the latest reports, more than 100 people have been killed in the fighting and about a thousand more have been wounded. The airport in the city of Goma, through which the UN, humanitarian groups and peacekeepers used to deliver supplies, is also under rebel control. Food and essential supplies from the south have been cut off.
The situation developed rapidly: the DR Congo government broke diplomatic relations with neighboring Rwanda, accusing the country of supporting the rebels. According to the UN, 3-4 thousand Rwandan troops participated in the siege of Goma.
DR Congo and Rwandan troops have opened fire on each other across their shared border. As a result, since the beginning of the year, according to the UN Refugee Agency, more than 400,000 people have fled their homes in North and South Kivu provinces near the border with Rwanda.
The region has already experienced two devastating wars between 1996 and 2003.
The ethnic Tutsi-led rebel group, M23, is also known as the March 23 Movement. They began in 2022, accusing the DR Congo authorities of failing to fulfill the terms of a peace agreement that required Congolese Tutsis to be fully integrated into the army and administration. Some 1 million Tutsis and moderate Hutus were victims of the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
The M23 have controlled the Rubaya region of Congo for more than a year, where they mine coltan, a valuable ore of niobium and tantalum used in the manufacture of smartphones and other electronic equipment. Mines in eastern DRC also produce tin, tantalum and tungsten. In addition, there are significant gold reserves.
According to the UN, the rebel group receives about $800,000 a month from the mining tax. Penetrating new territories will give it the opportunity to increase its revenues.
Calls for cessation of hostilities
Against the backdrop of what is happening, the UN stabilization mission in DR Congo is evacuating personnel and their families from Goma. The Russian embassy in the country has called on Russians living in North Kivu province to leave. The American diplomatic mission in DR Congo also recommended its citizens to immediately seek asylum due to the increasing level of violence and crime in the cities.
It is noted that the Ndjili airport in Kinshasa, the capital of Congo, remains open for commercial flights.
Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya emphasized that Russia strongly condemns the actions of the Congolese rebel group M23 in the DRC and calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities. According to the diplomat, Moscow is going to use "all possibilities" to suspend the conflict on the territory of the DRC and restore the prospect of a diplomatic settlement. He also emphasized that it is impossible to end the escalation in the region by armed means.
UN and Western officials, including the US, accuse Rwanda of fueling the conflict and supporting the M23 - thousands of Rwandan soldiers and heavy weapons are on DR Congo territory.
Rwanda rejects calls for withdrawal, denies supporting the rebels, saying they are taking defensive measures, and accuses DR Congo of supporting the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, which is attacking Tutsis in both countries.
Meanwhile, the UN Panel of Experts 2022 report says it has "convincing evidence" that Rwandan troops fought alongside M23 rebels. The publication also notes that Rwanda is using M23 to gain access to DRC resources and the ability to export them abroad for its own benefit.
What experts think
Sergey Karamaev, a researcher at the Center for Problems of Development and Modernization of IMEMO RAS, noted in a conversation with Izvestia that the current conflict in the Great Lakes region affects Rwanda and Congo directly, but also Uganda, Burundi, and indirectly affects Kenya and Tanzania.
- Everyone is well aware that if you let the fire burn, it will take over a third of the continent. This is central Africa, it is also closer to the eastern part of the continent, respectively, it will strongly influence this territory as well," says the political scientist.
In his opinion, it is difficult to talk about the U.S. strategy in the region now, because the States themselves do not really understand it.
- But it is definitely at the end of the list of their priorities. This was the case in the first presidential term of Donald Trump, and it is the same now. But this is on the one hand, on the other hand - the war is for rare earth elements, and this is high-tech production," the expert noted.
He added that the elements are necessary for the production of cell phones and tablets, nuclear equipment, missiles.
- This is what the modern developed Western civilization now stands and holds on. African soil is very rich in valuable resources. It is determined who will control the deposits. Everything else is already a work for the public," believes the Africanist.
The specialist is sure that this is a very important issue for high-tech American companies.
- If the head of Apple reaches out to Trump and says that the price of rare earth elements may suddenly jump, the price of all electronics and components will also rise. And this does not suit many people, because in addition to profit there is also the purchasing power of the population, so now a lot of people are interested in resolving the conflict," said the analyst.
Karamaev added that Rwanda is a developing economy that needs resources. The country has various ties with Europe, including Britain and France. That said, there is another country whose strategy in the region is hard to judge for sure, and that is China. In the eastern part of the DRC, China controls 15-19 large mines and is very much interested in obtaining rare earths, the expert says.
- As for Russia, it advocates the earliest possible end to the conflict and the resolution of disputed issues exclusively by political methods, and calls on the parties to lay down their arms and conduct a civilized dialogue, to create at least a truce," Karamaev concluded.
American political scientist Jason Stearns, who specializes in DRC politics, believes that Western states could take measures to stop Rwanda's support for M23.
"Especially the US. These donor countries have used such leverage in the past. In 2012, the US along with other Western countries stopped helping Rwanda and subsequently M23 was defeated. But this time we seem to live in a different world where business investment and national interests are more important than humanism, and where apathy takes over solidarity," summarized the expert.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
