With mass killings, prison breaks, mass displacement and mystery illnesses, violence has once again become a central issue in the Democratic Republic of Congo. With mass killings, prison breaks, mass displacement and mystery illnesses, violence has once again become a central issue in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In January 2025, the Rwanda-backed M23 rebels stormed into Congo and took over the key city of Goma. The conflict, which dates back to the Rwanda genocide of 1994, has plunged the African nation into a humanitarian crisis.

With mass killings, prison breaks, mass displacement and mystery illnesses, violence has once again become a central issue in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

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What's Happening In Congo?Fall Of Goma

In January 2025, Congo cut off diplomatic ties with Rwanda after the rebel group M23 stormed the country and took over Goma.

The escalation in Goma triggered nationwide violence, which reached the capital city of Kinhasa. This violence surged after the December 2023 national elections in the DRC.

With the fall of Goma, thousands of locals, who were already displaced due to years of violence, once again fled the region.

By the end of the month, DRC saw of its most violent jailbreaks at the Munzenze prison. Around 4,000 inmates broke out of the prison, but not before raping over 100 female prisoners and setting the prison complex ablaze.

Following the prisonbreak and grave escalation of violence, the M23 rebels declared a unilateral ceasefire for humanitarian reasons. However, the group has now moved into further and is working to expand control in eastern Congo.

After Goma, the rebel group is now moving to capture Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province in DRC, with support from Rwandan troops.

Background Of The Conflict

The conflict between Rwanda and Congo dates back to the 1990s and in the wake of the Rwandan genocide of 1994.

Following the end of the Rwandan civil war, ethnic Hutu extremists killed around one million minority ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus in Rwanda. During and after this genocide, around two million Hutu refugees crossed into Congo and settled in camps in the North and South Kivu provinces.

A small faction of these refugees identified as Hutu extremists, who then went on to organise militias within Congo.

From 1996 to 1997,66jogo casino Congo marked its first war. This war took place in the wake of the Rwanda genocide and resulted in the renaming of Zaire to DRC. The war ended with the overthrow ofZairean President Mobutu Sese Seko, who was replaced by rebel leader Laurent-Désiré Kabila.

However, this take over by rebel leaders would set the stage for the Second Congo War from in 1998. The war broke out when then rebel leader and president Kabila turned against his former allies from Rwanda and Uganda, who had helped him seize power in 1997.

The Second Congo War, is also known as the Great War of Africa, as it expanded into nine African nations and 25 armed groups.

After the assassination of Kaliba in 2001, the war continued and ended in 2003 with the establishment of a transitional government in DRC.

After this agreement, Congo and Rwanda implemented and signed various peace agreements. However, despite the peace agreements, violence continues to persist in Congo due to the tensions with the neighbouring nation.

From 2022 onwards, the M23 rebel group gained prominence. The group is named after March 23, 2009, on which an accord to end a Tutsi-led revolt was signed.

The current conflict was launched by the rebel group in 2022 and it accused the Congolese government of not implementing the conditions mentioned in the peace agreement.

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The rebel group also stated that the DRC government had failed to fully integrate Congolese Tutsis into the army and administration.

The group has vowed to defend Tutsi interests, especially against ethnic Hutu militias. Another reason for the conflict is due to the nature of the land in Congo.

DRC is home to some of the world's largest reserves of metal and earth minerals. Due to this fact, many other groups - local and foreign - see incentive to get involved in Congolese conflict.

Rwanda's Involvement

While Rwanda has openly denied its involvement with the M23, the Congolese government, UN officials and the US have accused Rwanda of fueling the conflict in eastern DRC by deploying its own troops.

In 2022, a UN report stated that the organisation has "solid evidence" ofRwandan troops fighting alongside the M23 rebel group.

However, Rwanda has rejected these accusations and stated that any evidence of Rwandan troops fighting has been part of defensive measures. The country has further accused Congo of fighting alongside FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda) which is a Hutu extremist militia.

Current State Of Conflict

The conflict caused due to the takeover of the M23 rebels has plunged the African nation into a deep humanitarian crisis. As per the recent reports, a mystery illness has broken out in the country, which has killed at least 50 people.

This mystery illness has killed 50 people within hours of being infected with what is being described as a "hemorrhagic fever."

This illness first broke out on January 21 and since then 419 cases have been recorded and 53 deaths. The outbreak now has the World Health Organisation on alert.

Apart from this, fighting continues in eastern DRC and around 7,000 people - civilians and combatants combined - have been killed. Of this, 3,000 deaths have been reported in Goma and around 450,000 people have been left without shelter due to 90 percent of displacement camps being destroyed.

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