#rwandans are in congo

[sayruq]

Not surprised that Paul Kagame would do this given the genocide he is committing in Eastern Congo on behalf of Western governments

[zvaigzdelasas]

ppl who are trying to do explainers abt current events in DRCongo are rly imo doing a massive disservice to ppls understandings without talking abt the regional context of DRCongo being where regional tensions have boiled over regularly - see Both Congo Wars - as well as putting M23 - as well as those wars - in the context of Rwandan/Burundian Genocides & the dispersion of Tutsi militias (see also: CNDP) in & around the Kivu regions since then - but also even Rwandan Hutu militias (see FDLR)

[offscreendeath]

ACCOUNTS TO FOLLOW TO LEARN HOW TO SUPPORT CONGO:

Congo Friends on Instagram

PappyOrion on TikTok & Instagram

[feminism7]

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Free Congo 🇨🇩

The Rwandan Genocide

[politicoscope]

48 Hours Vincent Karega Must Leave - DRC Just Warned Rwanda

48 Hours Vincent Karega Must Leave – DRC Just Warned Rwanda

Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has given Rwandan ambassador Vincent Karega 48 hours to leave the country in retaliation for Rwanda’s alleged support of the M23 rebels in the Congo’s eastern provinces. The rebel group, which Congolese authorities accuse Rwanda of backing but Rwanda denies, seized the town of Kiwanja in eastern Congo on Saturday, effectively cutting North Kivu’s capital Goma…

[aranchide]

Very worrying news from the DRCongo.

You saw the national football team cover their mouth, and point their fingers to their head in the CAN match against Ivory Coast last Wednesday?

It was to raise awareness for the surge in violence committed by M23 rebels in eastern Congo - with support from a neighbouring government, to destabilize a region that "happens to hold a lot of the world's very valued minerals".

People are being murdered, houses are being burnt. One again, thousands are fleeing their home, and join the refugee camps around Goma that already in October last year housed around 600.000 people.

Also Goma itself is surrounded, the supply lines for food from the country side to the city interrupted.

Why can't the international community do nothing more than empty declarations of solidarity and wishing for peace. The UN mission - which hardly had a mandate to intervene in case of violence against Congolese citizens - has had no positive impact.

Maybe we could finally consider putting pressure one the Rwandan goverment and its allies to actually put an end to these 30 years of violence and ruined lives in this region.

The same region that provides the world with materials for our phones, electrical and solar panels btw.

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/un-experts-say-rwanda-has-intervened-militarily-eastern-congo-2022-08-04/

[legalkimchi]

Please learn more than just a Phrase.

I don't expect people to be subject matter experts on issues of global politics.

But false equivalency is rampant in online discourse regarding three major conflicts in the world today. I am using the word conflict in this post, however, when applicable, i will use other words to describe specifics. (Nuance folks... it's a thing)

So i start off with an assumption that most people don't understand the basics of most international events. As an american, i only know some of the stuff that is happening within my own nation. This is not an insult to you, dear reader. Rather, it is a position we all must realize we are in. You do not understand most world issues.

You just don't.

you aren't there. it isn't your life. you don't have the academic background.

I saw a post recently calling for "freedom for Palestine, Sudan, and Congo."

And it bothered me. Not because i am opposed to peace, (how is asking for ceasefire a bad thing?) but rather because i believe simplifying the conflicts with this wording showcases the ignorance of the differences.

Not all conflicts are the same.

In palestine, we have a convoluted mess where two groups claim a territory as home. getting into the in-depth story of this conflict takes time. Foundational elements of it take place thousands of years ago, but the conflict itself is only about 75 years old. So it is a long and short story. Currently, the sovereign state of Israel is engaging in a genocide in Gaza. Asking for freedom for palestinians makes sense. they live in an apartheid state and would like a state of their own. they wish to be free of occupation. you can argue with the details, be pro-israel, or whatever, but that is the basic ask of palestinians. (if you want to get into anti-semetic regional sentiment or the desire of certain groups to eradicate the israeli jewish population or Israel as a nation that's a different topic, not the point of what i'm talking about.)

In the Congo and Sudan, it is a different story.

Let's start with the Congo. First of all, Which Congo?

Let's please understand that there is the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Republic of the Congo is a former french colony. Then there is Democratic Republic of the Congo. Some of us might remember this country as Zaire.

the DRC is the congo we are talking about in the news. This was a former belgian colony and the atrocities committed by the belgians there rival any genocide in human history. i've seen estimates between 5 million and 20 million deaths. some estimates state the population of native congolese were cut in HALF. since the turbulent start of the country after their independence in 1960, the country knew relative peace until the 1990s. Then a mixture of a weak central government and the Rwandan Civil war (which had it's own genocide you may have heard about) spilled over into what was then Zaire. Zaire dissolved, and the DRC took it's place, But the wars have been raging off an on since then. earlier this year, more civil war violence erupted AGAIN. This displaced millions, AGAIN. while the DRC is a bit of an autocratic and repressive regime, the rebel groups are groups with ties with the Rwandan government and the other group with ties to Isis. It's awful all the way down.

Sudan has had an ongoing civil war for over 20 years. I remember this because i helped lead some anti-genocide protests regarding Darfur when i was in college 20 years ago. I've been following this conflict for nearly my entire adult life. you may have heard about this with regards to the Save Darfur coalition regarding the genocide in Darfur. Well, that genocide has continued (albeit with less intensity) for 20 years. the civil war lasted until 2021, but restarted in a different form in late 2023. the conflict is now between two different sides of the military government fighting each other.

It is an awful conflict full of awful leaders. Sudan's government suffered a revolution in 2019 from a dictator, only to have that government overthrown in a coup by the current dictator. The Sudanese military is supported by folks like Russia and North Korea. you will see a bunch of communist countries support it, and you might think "hey, maybe al-Burhan is a leftist".

no... no he is not.

He is a military despot. He has no ties to any real ideology. He just runs sudan as a military dictator.

So who is opposing him?

The Rapid Support Forces. and you may be thinking "ok, so they are the good guys? trying to overthrow the dictator?"

No... They are the ones that instigated the Genocide in Darfur.

This is a situation is "no matter who wins, the people of Sudan lose."

So when folks claim these are all the same. Or wonder why folks talk about one and not the other.

there are reasons. These are very different conflicts. Please learn about them. It matters more than spouting some 4 word slogan calling for "freedom."

Find out what the people of these areas actually need. Learn more about what is happening. My description above is incomplete. I may even get some things wrong. I am trying to keep informed, but I am not an expert, nor do i live there. Raise voices from the region and find out if there are ways to help.

[prismatic-bell]

So I just reblogged a post that reminded me of something I’ve wanted to say for awhile:

90% of the workforce at my job is not white. Possibly more than 90%.

Over 80% are Latine. The next-largest block is immigrants from Rwanda and Congo (most don’t consider themselves refugees, although some are). I’m estimating about 10% of our workforce.

Next is white. Then pan-tribal Native American, then our single Vietnamese dude.

Out of a crew of approximately 35-40 people in my section, only three are white, and I’m one of them.

The reason I bring this up is because I also see the number of people who come in and then find they can’t or don’t want to do manufacturing work and wash out, and…they’re mostly not white either, but I’d say any generic white hire is about twice as likely to leave as any generic nonwhite hire.

So the next time you hear some asshole complaining about how the immigrants are taking all the jobs, a few rebuttals you can make courtesy of someone who really is in a field that’s mostly immigrants:

1) have you actually applied or are you just sat on your ass wanting to bitch?

2) did you actually show up when hired or did you decide the work was beneath you?

Because a hell of a lot of folks seem very surprised to see a young white person running a machine at my job. They have the automatic take that most white people don’t want the hours (it’s 12 hours a day, on your feet) or the risk (you can absolutely die or lose body parts in my job, and also you’re playing with chemicals all day) or the discomfort (you know that one scene in Willy Wonka where all the ladies at the shelling factory have on those gowns and nets? Yeah, it really is like that, and it’s hot as fuck). The assumption is that whites are rarely willing to do get-your-hands-dirty “menial” work, even for $20 an hour.

And one last thing.

I’m considered EXTREMELY VALUABLE because I can train in both English and Spanish. Far from an immigrant “taking” a job, I was DESPERATELY WANTED in this job. The hiring manager actually said she was concerned I was overqualified and I had to convince her I meant to stay. You want to go far in manufacturing? Be willing to get dirty and work hard and the sky, not your skin color, is the limit.

(Actually, one last-last thing. One of my Rwandan coworkers was having a conversation with me and mentioned that he really hates how western media talks about Africa in general, but Rwanda in particular. As he put it: “yes, there is war. So? We still have beautiful things.” He’s actually really proud of where he’s from. So from me, on his behalf: I encourage you to seek out non-mainstream writing on Rwandan history and culture. There is so much that never gets explored by our media because it suits them to push a narrative.)

[cauli-flawa]

Emergency Relief for Displaced Children in DRCongo Funds will be given to the nonprofit organization Focus Congo, which is on the grounds in Kivu, East Congo.

Donate to Goma Actif A nonprofit charity that provides essentials, recreation, and unity to displaced Congolese people in North Kivu.

Help Stephen Get an Urgent Operation for a Hernia Extremely close to the goal!

Action Aid UK An organization that helps women and girls living in poverty. They also work in emergency situations, sending aid to places in crisis.

Let's Take Action for Congo Funds will be given to @/landry0204 (on insta/tiktok), providing food, water, shelters, and social assistance to displaced refugees in Goma.

Help Women and Children in Congo A survivor of the Rwandan and Congolese genocide wants to raise funds to support Congo.

Help to Relocate Families in Congo Help a family find safety in Kalemie.

East of DR Congo Genocide - Survivors, Help Needed The Congolese Community in Ireland is raising funds to support and aid Congo.

Fundraiser to Help Orphans Move to Safer Areas

Support the Busimba Family to Rebuild Their Lives

Congo to Columbia: Help a Refugee Come to Columbia

Genocide in Goma, D.R. Congo Help raise funds to provide aid to displaced Congolese families.

Self Defense Maman An organization that provides self-defense training and emotional support to women in East Kivu.

[ptseti]

FREE CONGO!’ PROTESTS ERUPT IN PARIS Hundreds of protesters hit Parisian streets on 17 February, heading toward the Rwandan embassy to denounce the African state’s alleged complicity in the resource extraction and violence occurring in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This is just one in many recent actions Congolese people have taken calling for the liberation of their country. The Congo has been drained and pillaged for multiple generations to fuel the Global North’s technological advancements. Belgium built some of its initial wealth and standing as an industrialised state by plundering Congolese ivory and rubber in the 19th century and early 20th century. The native Congolese were subjected to brutality, such as amputations, if they could not fulfil rubber quotas. That international scandal forced the colonial system to rebrand itself and find less apparent ways to perpetuate the same violence. Since the mid-20th century, colonial rule has given way to neo-colonialism. The violence required to extract resources for the global capitalist economy has created a refugee crisis, with about 7 million Congolese internally displaced. Children have been documented digging for minerals, such as cobalt, so industrialised countries can reap profit. Meanwhile, neighbouring Rwanda and Uganda are accused of playing middlemen that help the West secure access to Congolese resources. Until the DRC is free, we will continue to fight, mobilise and organise wherever we may be. How do you see best to defend Africa against resource extraction that doesn’t benefit the people?

[canichangemyblogname]

Ugh. The BBC (derogatory) 😠.

During the World News Hour, they were covering South Africa’s ICJ case against Israel. And rather than tell the audience what South Africa had to say, they interviewed an Israeli official to gather Israel’s “thoughts” on this.

What??? Hello? That’s not coverage of this ICJ case? We’ll get to hear Israel’s case and Israel’s “thoughts” on the case on Friday when they present their defense. What did South Africa present? Tell me about South Africa’s case. WHAT DID SOUTH AFRICA SAY?

And the official’s main arguments— and if these are Israel’s arguments before the ICJ, they’re screwed— were essentially, “We have enough fire power to kill them all in one day, but we dragged this out instead. That makes us merciful and means we care about civilians,” “South Africa is a Hamas apologist,” “Hamas wants to genocide, so we have to kill people,” and “This is war and this is what happens during war. People die. It could not possibly be genocide because it’s war.”

Now, that last point is so, so insidious. Because it’s literally just genocide revisionism. Most genocides in modern history have happened during a war or were inspired by armed conflict. IREL scholars and lawyers point to the fact genocide often happens within the context of war as a reason for international inefficacy in prosecuting and preventing genocide. Because war oft obfuscates what happens and provides (a thin) rhetorical justification for the perpetrators of genocide: “It’s not genocide; it’s war, and civilians die in war.”

The Srebrenica Massacre happened during the Bosnian War.

The Rohingya Genocide in Myanmar (Burma) has been happening during a Civil War (following a Military coup), and during ethnic insurgencies.

the Darfur genocide happened during a Sudanese Civil War and has been reignited during the current war between the SAF and RSF.

The Hutu Massacre occurred during the First Congo War.

The Effacer le tableau happened during the Second Congo War

The Rwandan Genocide began on the heels of a Civil War and a re-ignition of the Civil War ended the genocide.

The 1912-1913 Balkan Wars inspired the beginning of the Armenian Genocide, which continued during the Turkish War of Independence.

The Iraqi Turkmen genocide and Yazidi genocide happened during an ISIS invasion and occupation of Iraq; the 2014 Northern Iraq Offensive and 2013-2017 Iraq War.

The Isaaq genocide, orchestrated by the Somali Democratic Republic, happened during the Somaliland War of Independence.

The Anfal Campaign Genocide against Iraqi Kurds happened during the Iraqi-Kurdish Conflict and the end of the Iran-Iraq War.

The Cambodian Genocide happened during the Cold War and the U.S. bombing of Cambodia, began with the Cambodian Civil War, and ended with the Cambodian–Vietnamese War.

^The above is not an exhaustive list.

War plays a large part in the orchestration of genocides. The mass violence and instability of war help provide the conditions and vulnerabilities that make genocide and genocidal mass violence possible. And the excuse of war often obscures the intent of genocide.

[zvaigzdelasas]

[The East African is Kenyan Private Media]

French hard-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon on Thursday denounced the "expansionist aims" of Rwanda in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), as fighting flared between rebels and pro-government armed groups.

"I wanted to reaffirm my fraternity with the Congolese people, at a time when they are facing a challenge that is totally imported," Melenchon said, after a meeting with DRC President Felix Tshisekedi.[...]

Elections are due on December 20, with Tshisekedi a candidate.

Independent UN experts, Kinshasa as well as Paris and Washington have accused Rwanda of backing the Tutsi-led M23 rebel group, which has captured swathes of territory in eastern DRC since 2021.

Kigali has denied the accusation.[...]

Melenchon said the M23 rebel movement "articulated by neighbouring Rwanda", reflected a "deliberate desire to disrupt... the functioning of democracy in the Congo" and challenge its "sovereignty".

He added that he hoped for a return to a ceasefire and that "Rwanda abandons the expansionist aims that we have heard Rwandan President Paul Kagame declare".

Melenchon arrived in the DR Congo on Tuesday for a one-week stay, after being invited by a university and accompanied by a delegation of three MPs from his France Unbowed party.

27 Oct 23

[randomthoughtswhileeatingdonuts]

Part 2 of my series

Congo 

Since the 1880s, Western powers have infiltrated Congolese territory for resources and labor. King Leopold of Belgium, under the pressure of the CRA (Congo Reform Association ), would enslave and mutilate millions of Congolese civilians to demonstrate his unchecked power in the country. By 1908 it was briefly renamed Belgian Congo and treated as an extension of King Leopold’s property. The goal was to open the African interior to European trade along the Congo River. Leopold worked with local rulers to establish power centers throughout Congo. Laborers were forced to harvest rubber, palm oil, and ivory and were penalized for “slow work” by having their hands cut off. This unfortunately included Congolese children. Though Leopold died in 1909, Belgium would retain authority in Congo until 1960 when Congo would gain its independence. (Momodu)

Now, over 60 years after gaining independence, Congo’s wounds continue to be exploited by Western greed. With the advancement of technology, minerals like cobalt and coltan have been instrumental in most of our day to day devices. Unfortunately for Congo, within its soil is more than 70% of the worlds’ cobalt. Mining companies out of Australia, China, the USA, and Switzerland pay laborers less than $2 a day and neglectfully overlook the use of child labor for these resources. (Nganje and Lawson)

Corrupt leaders in the DRC, Western World Leaders, and Tech giant companies look the other way whilst incentivizing Rwandan and Ghanian militant groups to brutalize Congolese laborers into submission. Sexual assault and murder are amongst the inhumane tactics used to force people into mining these minerals. (Latek)

Six million have died in Congo because of the Western world's lust for power since 1996. More than 2,000 Congolese have died just from the brutalization of the militants or the chemical and safety hazards within the mines. (“Conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo | Global Conflict Tracker”) There is an active lawsuit against Tesla, Dell, and the Alphabet company on behalf of dozens of children who died or were injured while working in the mines. But, there is so much more we can do. Here is a list.

What I have here is written by YANAtheartist

YANAtheartist🇭🇹🫶🏿🇨🇩🇸🇩 (@yanatheartist) | TikTok

Now this is fairly depressing so what can we do about it? 

Firstly we can raise awareness by posting about Congo, raising awareness is crucial as not many people are aware of this 

Secondly here are some sources + people

Home | Congolicious Foundation

Raising Consciousness About the Challenge of the Congo - Friends of the Congo

Conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo | Global Conflict Tracker (cfr.org)

Third donate if you cant afford to donate heres free ways to donate

Kombo Mabé - song and lyrics by Lagrace | Spotify

abusin' me - song and lyrics by YANAtheartist | Spotify

Fourth - Boycott

These are mining companies exploiting Congo

Mining Companies in the DRC | Africa Mining IQ (projectsiq.co.za)

This is a place where u can keep track of these mining companies stock

List of Mining Companies in Democratic Republic of the Congo - Junior Mining Network

Fifth 

Stop vaping in solidarity with Congo, dont buy new devices or buy them secondhand

[mariacallous]

In the summer of 2022, I crossed from Rwanda into the besieged Congolese city of Goma. The slick Rwandan border police and their Chinese-made black polymer carbines stood in stark contrast to the weary Congolese soldiers’ ancient Kalashnikovs. “We can’t invade Rwanda or Uganda,” a hardened Congolese provincial politician admitted to me. He slid his fingers across his neck, adding, “But we can’t negotiate with a knife to our throat.”

Since that conversation, Rwandan troops and their local March 23 Movement (M23) proxy forces have completely encircled Goma. While the Rwandan government simultaneously denies supporting M23 while justifying its intervention as necessary for Rwandan security, the direct involvement of Rwanda has been extensively documented by the United Nations and acknowledged with alarm by the U.S. State Department.

Humiliated, many Congolese are now ready to take the war to its source. The prospect of interstate war in the region looms once more. The last time these states committed to war, as many as 5.5 million people died. The United States is the leading bilateral donor to Rwanda, giving over $170 million in assistance last year to a country where more than 40 percent of the national budget is made up of international aid. The U.S. government needs to use its overwhelming leverage to keep this deadly inferno in check.

Rwandan support for M23 introduces an unacceptable risk of regional escalation. Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi is managing the aftermath of his recent controversial reelection; Burundi’s elite is well armed and divided; Uganda is approaching a leadership succession crisis as its aging president, 79-year-old Yoweri Museveni, promotes his unpredictable son (best known for his undiplomatic use of social media) to head the armed forces; and Rwanda’s veneer of development hides its own volcanic tensions.

All these countries now have troops staring one another down in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It would be a mistake to underestimate the frustration felt by many Congolese and the willingness to challenge Rwanda on its own territory.

Such a major security threat should be unacceptable to the United States. The Islamic State, also active in eastern Congo, is gaining ground and staging regional terrorist attacks as Congolese and Ugandan troops reposition to confront M23. There are concerns that Congo may turn to Russia to buttress its struggling army, although thus far Kinshasa has stuck with non-Russian (primarily Romanian) military contractors. Congo’s most effective weapon in the conflict is the recent arrival of Chinese attack drones. U.N. peacekeepers and the incoming South African-led multilateral military intervention are destined for retreat, humiliation, or quagmire if the conflict drags on. No external actor has the will to commit the resources needed to defeat M23 on the battlefield.

There are also less tangible but more serious reputational costs for U.S. inaction. Tshisekedi vocally threw his weight behind the United States against outright Chinese mining dominance and in support of U.N. resolutions condemning Russia’s war in Ukraine. If the United States is serious about attracting partners in Africa, it needs to support them when they are threatened.

That doesn’t mean turning a blind eye if Tshisekedi attempts to centralize power illegally, but it does mean forcing the Rwandans to the negotiating table. More broadly, not responding to aggression in central Africa reflects poorly on the Biden administration’s public commitment to international norms and fuels accusations of hypocrisy as Washington condemns Russian aggression in Ukraine.

The goodwill toward the United States in Congo is precarious, tainted as it is by the memory of steady support to Uganda and Rwanda throughout their invasions of Congo between 1996 and 2003. But Washington has also shown that it can flex its muscle when needed—and get the results it seeks.

In 2012, the U.S. and U.K. governments dramatically cut aid to Rwanda in response to the first M23 rebellion. It was not a smooth process, and the decision to cut aid only followed a media storm over M23’s takeover of the provincial capital of Goma. (Learning from this experience, the current rebellion initially encircled rather than captured the high-profile city.) However, it was effective. Rwanda withdrew support from M23 while remaining a U.S. aid recipient. The Congolese security situation temporarily improved.

Until the resurgence of M23 in late 2021, Rwanda’s military action in the Congolese provinces of North and South Kivu was restricted to covert actions, proxy conflicts, and consensual interventions with Congolese government approval. While occasionally destructive (particularly in 2019 in South Kivu), these actions did not provoke widespread countermobilizations or displacement.

In 2022, the U.S. government response started slowly and gradually ramped up pressure while maintaining a public stance of neutrality. Congolese support for the sanctioned Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a Congo-based Rwandan rebel group led by members of the genocidal regime overthrown in 1994, was raised on equal footing with Rwandan support for M23, effectively endorsing the Rwandan narrative that the M23 rebellion was a necessary security measure.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who met with both Tshisekedi and Rwandan President Paul Kagame in August 2022, continued to reiterate equal responsibility. While stern words were supposedly exchanged behind closed doors, no sanctions resulted. The U.N. groups of experts continued to observe multiple phases of offensives and consolidation by M23 with direct Rwandan military support.

Finally, after year and eight months of conflict, six individuals were sanctioned in August of 2023: three FDLR commanders, one M23, one Congolese general, and one Rwandan general. The Rwandan general was promoted in response. The small amount of military aid given to Rwanda was only cut in early October 2023. There were no cuts to development programming, and Rwanda’s eligibility in the flagship U.S.-Africa trade agreement, the African Growth and Opportunity Act, was renewed.

Only in February, as M23’s forces finally turned to march on Goma, did the State Department put out a decisive statement condemning Rwanda and the escalation “caused by the actions of the Rwanda-backed, U.S.- and UN-sanctioned M23 armed group.”

Although necessary, taking a firmer line with Rwanda will have costs. The Rwandan government is a famously responsive security, trade, and development partner in a region infamous for poor governance. Since the aid cut in 2012, the Rwandan government has continuously strived to build this reputation as a good partner into diplomatic leverage to avoid a repeat of that embarrassing rebuke. It may have found that leverage in Mozambique and the Central African Republic, where Rwandan military forces offered badly needed security, allegedly subsidized through French development aid.

Washington is heavily invested in successful development programs enabled by the relatively effective governance of the Rwandan state. Cutting effective development programs, endangering budding business relationships, and retracting military partnerships are not desirable for the United States. Yet these costs pale in comparison to the risks of continuing escalation.

There are also concerns that U.S. perceptions of Washington’s regional interests may be distorted by an overly sympathetic view toward Rwanda by officials at the U.S. Embassy in Kigali. This concern has been raised privately by some U.S. officials in Uganda and Congo toward their Kigali-based colleagues.

Effective domestic development programs, consistent engagement, and tight control of speech by the image-conscious Rwandan state give Kigali-based international entities a view that is devoid of opposition voices. This concern is echoed among many regional political observers who see Washington as soft on Kigali. In Congo, this observation manifests in popular conspiracy theories of a grand CIA-orchestrated Rwandan ethnic imperial project.

Regardless of the cause, indecision undermines the Biden administration’s regional foreign-policy objectives of building bridges with South Africa—a leading economy on the continent— supporting a growing partnership with Kenya, and reaching strategic mineral deals in Congo, all of which take precedence over the strained partnership with the relatively small country of Rwanda.

If Rwanda withdraws its forces from Mozambique and CAR, the United States has a menu of multilateral or bilateral options to mitigate the consequences. In Mozambique, regional multilateral forces are already deployed and could be empowered. In CAR, bilateral security arrangements with the United States are rumored to be in the negotiation stages. Unlike in those conflicts, there are few good tools to stop interstate escalation in Congo once underway. For the moment, however, the U.S. government still can influence Rwanda and Congo.

Getting Rwanda to negotiate meaningfully requires pressure. While the overstretched U.S. foreign-policy apparatus must prioritize the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, war in the Middle East, and security threats in East Asia, proactive engagement in Africa’s Great Lakes region will save energy and resources in the future.

Reconstructing Congo after 2003, even to its current fragile state, cost billions of dollars, and millions of lives were lost in the fighting. The United States cannot afford another major conflict there, even one that appears for now to lie on the periphery of U.S. interests.

[my-chemical-rot]

Today marks 30 years since the assassinations of Juvenal Habyarimana which started the Rwandan Genocide. Understanding the Rwandan Genocide & it’s aftermath is essential context for understanding the current humanitarian crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This article explains it really well but obviously the history is complex & I’d strongly recommend you do further research

And if you can, donate to the Genocide Survivors Foundation and Friends of the Congo

[protoslacker]

By indirectly causing instability in the locations where coltan is found in surplus in the DRC, Rwanda has managed to siphon billions of dollars worth of the valuable mineral to attract foreign investment over the years. Despite the Rwandan government denying all claims, the UN has presented conclusive evidence of the state funding the M23, and continuing to spill Congolese blood on Congolese soil without remorse.

Ruth Mudingayi in Africa Is A Country. Congo beyond the hashtags

While social media has amplified calls for social justice in long-ignored parts of the world, it should only be the beginning of our activism.

WHAT IS HAPPENING IN CONGO?