(Bloomberg) — More than 7 million people have been displaced by violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, one of Africa’s most volatile regions, and fears have been simmering of a heightened conflict. President Felix Tshisekedi has accused his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame of supporting a rebel group known as M23.
Kagame denied the allegation and countered that Tshisekedi’s inability to control events in his own country poses a security risk to Rwanda. The acrimony escalated in early 2024, with the rebels expanding their territory around the trading hub of Goma and seizing control of key routes including those used to export tantalum, a key mineral in portable electronics.
Angola brokered a truce between the two nations that was supposed to come into effect in early August, but it’s unclear if M23 will stick to it.
1. Why is the situation so fraught?
Rwanda says its biggest concern is the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, or FDLR, one of more than 120 armed groups that are active in eastern Congo. The FDLR was created by ethnic Hutus from Rwanda with links to the perpetrators of the 1994 genocide in their country that left at least 850,000 people dead.
For the rest of this article: https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/investing/2024/08/05/why-relations-between-congo-and-rwanda-are-so-toxic/