Thehas warned the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is on the brink of a regional war, amid escalating violence in the city of Goma.
A rebel group called M23 took control of the city this week, cutting off access to main roads and the airport. Other nations and the UN have accused Rwanda of backing M23, which the country’s government denies.
The UN has said dead bodies are currently lining the streets.
This latest surge in violence is the latest stage in a long, complex conflict.
The DRC
The DRC is a central African nation which borders several others, including Rwanda.
It is rich in natural resources, but its people live in extreme poverty, mainly due to hundreds of years of colonisation, conflict and exploitation.
Ongoing violent conflict in the late 1990s and early 2000s related to ethnic tensions in the region further destabilised the DRC.
In 1994, extremists from a Rwandan ethnic group called the Hutus mounted a genocide against another group, the Tutsis. The genocide was also perpetrated against some Hutus.
Many Hutus who were not involved with the genocide fled across the border into the DRC. Following a war, Tutsis took control of Rwanda’s government and soon invaded the DRC on the grounds of self-defence.
The Tutsis were joined by troops and militias from other countries in back-to-back wars in the DRC from 1996-97 and 1998-2003.
Conflict
Your contribution ensures The Daily Aus can continue doing the work you love.
I want to give $10 monthly to help TDA keep doing the news.
Your details:
The violence this week has centred on the city of Goma, on the DRC’s border with Rwanda.
A rebel group called M23, made up of Tutsi rebels, pushed into Goma and cut off the main roads and the airport.
This has made it impossible for civilians to flee the city.
M23 have seized Goma once before, in 2012. After the U.S. and UK pulled funding from the Rwandan Government, the group relinquished the city.
Now, the UN and representatives from countries including France allege Rwandan troops are helping M23 secure Goma again. It’s believed control of the city will givemore power over key trade routes along the border.
Rwanda has said it is defending itself from Congolese militias on the border.
Violence
UN staff have alleged M23 have opened fire on patients at hospitals, and left dead bodies in the streets.
The militia bombed a maternity hospital, killing pregnant women and newborns.
A UN official working in the DRC, Vivian van de Perre, said the organisation’s bases were overloaded with refugees and had been bombed, damaging the water system.
“The degree of suffering that the population here in Goma and its environs is enduring is truly unimaginable,” van de Perre said.
