Congo Tensions

Things seem to be escalating in Democratic Republic of Congo, the massive landlocked nation at the heart of Africa:

According to the Conversation
“In the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), South African, Burundian and Tanzanian troops are fighting against the Rwandan army, which has deployed in support of the rebellion by the March 23 Movement, or M23.”

and

“Rwanda, which has denied backing M23, says the Rwandan rebel group – Forces Démocratiques pour la Libération du Rwanda (FDLR) – which includes combatants who participated in the 1994 genocide, has been fully integrated into the Congolese army. It also claims that the Congolese government is engaged in “massive combat operations” aimed at expelling Congolese Tutsi civilians.”

Similar noises to Russia when it made it jus ad bellum for invading Ukraine.

Let’s not forget that one of the bloodiest wars in history played out in Congo in the 1990’s largely overlooked in the UK news agenda. Already thousands are displaced.

This is not getting the attention of Israel/Palestine, largely because it is outside the UK’s zone of interest, though Rwanda has relatively recently become a Commonwealth nation, despite never having been colonised by the UK: the potential for war with DRC also could jeopardise the whole idea of sending refugees there: they’ll have enough to deal with from Eastern Congo.