‍by Ralf E. Krüger, Johannesburg

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Johannesburg - Mercenaries, rebels, government soldiers, peacekeepers: A long-simmering conflict in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) threatens to escalate into a veritable war with neighboring Rwanda following the fall of the important megacity of Goma. The regional power South Africa is also being drawn more and more into the conflict - after a total of 14 peacekeeping soldiers killed. On Monday, the US embassy, but also UN institutions called on foreigners associated with them to leave Kinshasa - the capital of the DR Congo, which is more than 2600 kilometers from Goma. At the same time, the US embassy announced a drastic reduction in its staff in Kinshasa.

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The background to this are threats by the 23 March rebel group (M23) to extend their offensive to the strategically important neighbouring city of Bukavu, but also to Kinshasa. At the end of January, after fierce fighting with hundreds dead, it had taken over the important commercial center of Goma, which borders the neighboring country of Rwanda and Lake Kivu. Although Rwanda's President Paul Kagame denies intervention by his troops in the conflict, support for the M23 rebels as well as direct military involvement of Rwandan soldiers in the conflict are considered a given, according to observers and also by the United Nations.

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“Rwanda does a Putin in Congo,” headlined the British “the Economist,” for example, and drew parallels with the actions of the Russian president, who officially claimed to protect ethnic minorities in Ukraine through Russian support. “Rwanda's dictator Paul Kagame copied these tactics in eastern Congo; the M23 rebels were armed, supplied and commanded by his regime,” the magazine wrote, speaking of an undeclared war.

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Following the fall of the provincial capital of Goma, the government of the DR Congo therefore withdrew its ambassador from Rwanda and expelled the top diplomat from the country's neighboring state. In addition to martial threats against the Rwandan capital Kigali, the soccer clubs Bayern Munich, Paris St. Germain and Arsenal, sponsored by Rwanda, also received letters from the Congolese Ministry of Foreign Affairs demanding that they cease their partnership with Rwanda. The government in Kinshasa spoke of a declaration of war.

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Congo — rich in raw materials but politically unstable for decades

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The conflict has been smouldering for decades against a backdrop of ethnic tensions in one of the world's most resource-rich regions, where important precious metals - such as coltan for the computer industry - are mined by international companies. Many of them were also protected by foreign mercenaries. Following the fall of Goma, the M23 rebels staged in front of cameras the disarmament and evacuation of around 280 Romanian mercenaries who had fled to a UN peacekeeping base.

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The long-standing conflict has its roots, among other things, in the colonial border, which divided the people of Tutsis based in the DR Congo as well as in Rwanda. Following the genocide in Rwanda of more than 800,000 Tutsis and moderate members of the Hutu ethnic group in 1994, the troops of current President Paul Kagame pushed the responsible Hutu militias across the border into the eastern part of the DR Congo, where dozens of armed groups are wreaking havoc. The M23 rebels, consisting mostly of Tutsis, emerged from the predecessor CNDP militia formed in 2004, which signed a peace agreement with the Congolese government in March 2009. Among other things, it envisaged the integration of the rebels into the national armed forces, which, in their opinion, never came about.

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The militia was therefore reformed as M23 in April 2012 and, after a phase initially focused on political negotiations, achieved military success, especially at the end of last year, after the Congolese government had ordered the withdrawal of a UN peacekeeping force almost simultaneously. In their place, at the request of the DR Congo, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) had promised to send around 5,000 soldiers, primarily provided by Tanzania, Malawi and South Africa, which also has business interests in the DR Congo. Following the deaths of soldiers from his country while taking Goma, a critical statement by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa had sparked diplomatic upset and a harsh reaction from his Rwandan counterpart Kagame.

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It also spoke of an open confrontation that Rwanda would not shy away from. President Ramaphosa called for an immediate ceasefire as a precondition for peace talks with all parties involved and said in a statement: “Since 1996, the conflict in the DR Congo, together with the diseases and hunger it has caused, has cost millions of lives.” According to UN estimates, seven million Congolese are also considered displaced from their homes. Ramaphosa, however, also emphasized: “As a country, we have a duty to support those nations of Africa whose solidarity and material support has ensured our liberation (from apartheid - editor's note); South Africa will not relent in supporting the people of the DR Congo so that they can enjoy the security and peace they deserve.” The Cape State holds the presidency of the G20 group of states this year.

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