The Guardian view on conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: a disaster with many makers
Western resource-hunger has fuelled a vast humanitarian crisis. Donors must now press Rwanda to pull back from this war
There are bodies on the streets, hundreds of thousands of civilians fleeing and overwhelmed hospitals draining fuel from ambulances to keep respirators running. The rapidly escalating conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) – which has seen rocketing sexual violence, the execution of children and the displacement of 400,000 people this year alone – has just exploded with the M23 rebel group’s seizure of Goma, in the east.
Their advance comes thanks to backing from Rwanda, despite the coyness of the Rwandan president, Paul Kagame. Mr Kagame suggests that M23 is defending the country’s Tutsis, victims of Rwanda’s 1994 genocide, against an armed group set up by former genocidal killers. But the threat those fighters pose appears greatly exaggerated: analysts believe the real aim is to seize mineral-rich territory. There is a striking parallel with Russia’s tactics in eastern Ukraine in 2014. On Wednesday, Rwandan troops were seen heading towards Bukavu, another key city, with the M23 fighters.
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