Conflicts have been going on in DR Congo for several days, leading to concerns. According to multiple sources including the British Broadcasting Corporation and Cable News Network, hundreds of people have been killed, along with the displacement of thousands, in several days of intense fighting in Goma, an eastern city of the Democratic Republic of Congo, mainly between the government force and the rebel group named the March 23 Movement (M23), made up of ethnic Tutsis. The rebel group M23, which has by this time captured northern Kivu, is moving south towards Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu, while the military has set up a defending line, increasing the chance of intense conflicts in the days ahead.
Conflicts are not new in DR Congo. It is notable that the conflict in eastern DR Congo dates back to the 1990s. The government and rebel groups —including the Allied Democratic Forces and M23 —have been in conflicts for several decades, leading to thousands of deaths. Various reasons including conflicts over resources, territorial disputes and grievances have been fueling conflicts and will do so. In the ongoing conflicts, rebels say that they are fighting for minority rights, while the government says that M23 rebels, which have waged a renewed rebellion against the Congolese government since 2022, are seeking control of vast mineral wealth in the eastern region. Among others, geopolitical and unresolved issues between DR Congo and Rwanda have been fueling conflicts.

Photo credit: https://edition.cnn.com/.
But inadequate peace steps-based and other reasons can deteriorate the situation amidst the parties’ willingness to continue to fight. Notably, there has been no remarkable development in peace efforts, except for the sending of troops from the Southern African Development Community, the regional bloc which declared its support for DR Congo at a crisis summit in Zimbabwe. Peacekeepers from this can help the government force to defend DR Congo from M23 rebels, who vowed to continue the offensive until it reached the capital Kinshasa, but it is unlikely to end the ongoing conflicts because of various reasons including the support the rebel group receives from Rwanda, with which DR Congo has a long rivalry because of ethnic tensions and other reasons.
But steps are vital to prevent further escalation and mitigate ongoing conflicts between the government and rebel groups in the Democratic Republic of Congo — where previous conflicts especially during the 1990s drew several neighboring countries and are often rendered Africa’s World Wars. Peace talks between the government and the rebel group M23, which is backed by Rwanda, are vital and will be helpful in mitigating conflicts between the parties in Kivu and other areas. The quick involvement of international actors including the Eastern African leaders is vital to mediate peace talks and end conflicts in DR Congo, the second-largest country in Africa.
But peace talks are also vital between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. The Angola-mediated peace process, which helped sign a key peace document between the parties in November 2024, needs to be advanced with the resumption of peace talks, which were later postponed in December last year, and may help address diverse concerns of both parties and mitigate their conflicts, reducing the chance of conflicts and facilitating peace in DR Congo. But the commitment of Rwanda and DR Congo is vital to ending the conflict in the latter.
Amir M Sayem
Chief Editor
Dhaka Opinion Magazine