Rwandan hand in east Congo turmoil

Rwanda-backed M23 rebels of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have overrun a large area of the eastern part of the country and captured Congo’s largest city Goma. It is a repeat of what had happened in 2012-13. At that time the United Nations had intervened, and the UN peace-keeping force from South Africa, Tanzania and Mozambique had been sent into the area.

In a controversial election of 2023, Congo’s President Felix Tshisekede had insisted on removing the UN force. The M23 rebels have found it easy to move into Congo’s eastern part. The ostensible reason that M23 offers for its intrusion into eastern Congo is that it is to protect the minority Tutsis in Congo.

It has to be remembered that Tutsis were massacred in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. Rwanda has returned to normalcy and it has emerged as a stable political state in the region under President Paul Kagame, a Tutsi himself. This time round there is less pressure on Kagame because, according to experts, there are too many distractions in the world including Donald Trump taking over as US president, the tense situation in the Middle East and the war in Ukraine.

There was a resolution in the UN Security Council about the latest development in eastern Congo and the support M23 rebels are getting from Rwanda. But the members of the UNSC stopped short of calling out Kagame. It is being said that Kagame had made himself a reliable friend in the Western capitals, especially in the United Kingdom and in France. Kagame, it is said, had endeared himself in London because of his agreement to accept the deported illegal immigrants into Great Britain in Rwanda. And Kagame is willing to send forces to protect French economic interests in Mozambique.

According to Stephanie Wolters, a Congo analyst with South Africa’s Institute for Security Studies, “Everyone has pointed the finger at Rwanda by now and not a needle has moved.” Christophe Vogel, a Congo analyst and former UN investigator says, “A lot of powerful nations are less willing to engage beyond rhetoric There’s basically no will or political capital to take a stand...” The people of east Congo, especially those who are fleeing Goma with the arrival of M23 men, want the M23 to be defeated. But it is not happening at the moment.

It is unfortunate that Africa, despite its deep-rooted poverty across the many states that dot the continent, is embroiled in a deadly wars and civil wars, with armies and militias ruling the roost. European powers like France have lost control of the region and they are on the retreat, leaving Africans to kill each other on the basis of ethnic and tribal differences.

The United Nations is not in a position to intervene effectively despite its humanitarian concerns. The only way of course is for African states to adopt a broader view of their relations, and not fight wars based on narrow national interests and tribal loyalties. This will benefit the outsiders while causing immense harm to the ordinary people living in these countries. The Western world would love to play its own power games in Africa on the pretext of diplomatic and humanitarian concerns, but it is not interested in the safety and welfare of Africans. So, it is for African leaders and peoples to overcome their internal differences, and make peace that will benefit all of them. The greatest challenge facing Africa is lack of development. And as a continent of poor countries, they are the most vulnerable to the devastation that climate change can unleash. Africans have to help themselves, and safeguard their own interests.