What is happening in Congo?
By: Riley Duignan
A rebel group in Congo is actively trying to overthrow the Democratic Republic of Congo and committing many human rights violations at the hands of the rebel group’s terrorism, but the world seems to stay silent.
How it started
In 1997, Laurent-Desire Kabila (a Congolese rebel), who was backed by Rwanda and Uganda, overthrew Mobutu Sese Seko, ending his 32-year dictatorship in Congo. Due to the success in overthrowing the dictatorship, Laurent Desire Kabila was sworn in as Congo’s president on May 17, 1997. On August 2, 1998, the Second Congo War broke out due to Laurent Desire Kabila turning against his previous allies, Rwanda and Uganda. But less than a year later, in July 1999, using the Lusaka peace agreements, foreign troops from Rwanda, Uganda, Angola, and Zimbabwe began to withdraw their army troops from Congo in efforts to help end the Second Congo War. On January 16, 2001, President Laurent Desire Kabila was assassinated, causing his son to be his immediate successor. His son, Joseph Kabila, contributed to the Sun City agreement in 2003, establishing a transitional government in the Democratic Republic of Congo. For the DRC, this means a unified control of government by the DRC government and rebel groups. Due to this, rebel groups took control of mineral-rich areas of Congo, especially the eastern Congo.
The creation of M23
M23 is a military rebel group that was created in 2012 after a rebellion against the DRC government. It emerged from the already existing CNDP, a rebel group that was formed in 2006, built mainly of Rwandan-Congolese soldiers, in an act of rebellion after its political party lost the election that formerly elected Joseph Kabila into office. On March 23, 2009, the DRC and the CNDP signed a peace accord that, put simply, made the CNDP an official political party, promising military integration from the CNDP into the Congolese army, release of political prisoners, and assistance and rehabilitation to refugees and displaced people around the DRC. But in 2012, multiple CNDP soldiers accused the government of not following the peace agreement; the same year, past CNDP fighters collectively created the M23 (named after the date of the ‘unsuccessful’ peace accord) rebel group, an acclaimed Rwandan-backed military rebel group that is accused of challenging the current DRC government but mainly seizing and controlling areas of Congo. Rwanda has denied its involvement and backing of the M23, contradicting claims and investigations from UN sources.
Note: In 1994, around 2 million Rwandan refugees in total escaped to Congo during and after the Rwandan Genocide. This caused a mixing pot of ethnicities and ethnic tensions in Congo, as well as tense military relations and complicated political relations between the two countries. So much so that in 1996, the First Congo War would be between Rwanda and Congo.
What is happening currently
As of now, the M23 is accused as the main abuser and culprit, but government militias have also been accused of similar crimes. But the M23 has continuously knowingly terrorized eastern DRC, seizing Goma and now Bukavu, the two biggest cities in eastern DRC. They have also raided multiple smaller villages, such as Kishishe village. The Human Rights Watch has reported many violations at the hands of the M23 group, such as executions of innocent civilians, gang rape and sexual slavery, raiding of hospitals and schools, kidnapping of patients and innocent civilians, child labor, child recruiting, torture, and unreasonable arrests against journalists, human rights protesters, and other such innocent civilians or foreigners.
M23 also controls many mines that are rich in tin, tantalum, and other such minerals. They are known to use child labor and false employment to get labor in the mines. These minerals profit from the development of technology and smartphones, as these minerals are often used in technology. We call these minerals “conflict minerals” due to the fact that they originate from conflict zones and use or contribute to human rights abuses or extreme violence to mine them. Big tech companies like Apple, Samsung, Microsoft, Tesla, etc. have all been accused by experts of using conflict minerals due to their ease and affordability. Though many companies publicly claim they use “conflict-free” minerals. So yes, the phone you’re holding or computer you’re reading from IS likely part of the problem. The more companies buy these conflict minerals or buy minerals sourced from M23-owned land, the more profit the groups make, often using this profit to fund their military arms and soldiers.
The number of total deaths is generally unreported and not readily available, but it is estimated that in January 2025 and February 2025, an approximate number of around 3000 Congolese citizens were slaughtered, and almost another 3000 were severely injured. Raids and seizures of cities and villages cause mass displacement of Congolese people, who often have their homes destroyed, lack access to humanitarian aid, and overall trying to escape from mass violence. It is estimated that in just the eastern Congo, around 5.2 million people have been displaced by M23, and the majority of them struggle to get access to food and medical aid.
It’s important to educate ourselves and spread media, social, and political awareness of the terrorism and violence in Congo. It is also important to understand how, even if you are not there, you are indirectly impacted and involved through the companies you purchase from.
Sources
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https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/11/1166305#:~:text=Ms.%20Jones%20noted%20that%20fighting%20between%20M23,1.6%20million%20that%20have%20been%20displaced%20this