People carry some of their belongings as they flee clashes between M23 rebels and government forces near Sake on 7 February 2024.
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Regional countries are embroiled in a geopolitical struggle over influence and survival.
People protest against the conflict in eastern DRC during an African Union assembly in Addis Ababa on 17 February 2024.
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Protests in Kinshasa are an indictment of the lack of attention to the Congolese crisis.
Kenyan soldiers from the East African Community Regional Force leave the Democratic Republic of Congo on 3 December 2023.
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Chances of longer term peace are small because of the DRC’s assumption that it can achieve peace through sheer military force.
Ugandan soldiers in the deep forests of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in 2021.
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Regional rivalries have functioned as oxygen, allowing the rebel group to survive and grow.
Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi speaks in the capital Kinshasa.
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Plenty remains to be done to improve the lives of Congolese citizens.
Residents of Bambo in North Kivu, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, flee after M23 attacks in October 2023.
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The international effort to address three decades of violence in eastern DRC has drawn in the UN, east African troops and now a southern African force.
DRC’s outgoing president Joseph Kabila (left) with his successor Felix Tshisekedi in January 2019.
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Laurent Kabila and his son Joseph were the Democratic Republic of Congo’s third and fourth presidents.
A soldier guards a camp in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in January 2023.
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Central to the DRC’s politics is a broken relationship between the seat of government in Kinshasa and underrepresented groups in the eastern region.
Soldiers from South Sudan prepare to be deployed to help restore peace in the DRC.
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The causes of violence in the DRC are complex. Narrowing them down to the single lens of ethnicity can be misleading.
Soldiers on patrol in Goma, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, in November 2022.
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A comprehensive strategy does not seem to be an immediate priority for Congolese authorities with an eye on elections.
South Sudanese soldiers prepare for deployment to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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The region’s forces are seen as important in addressing the long-running conflict in the DRC – but their involvement is complicated.
Burundian military personnel arrive at Goma airport in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on 5 March, 2023.
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Insecurity, especially in the DRC’s South Kivu, is considered a serious threat by Burundi’s army.
Banyamulenge community members at the funeral of one of their own in eastern DRC.
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The Banyamulenge have been viewed as strangers in their own country – the violence targeting them revolves around this misconception.
Young people play football on a street in Goma, eastern DRC.
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Football provides a way for unpopular elites to build political capital – but also creates space for citizens to voice dissent.
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Destructive mining in Congo’s protected areas is rampant because it generates money for citizens, officials and armed groups.
Kenyan troops fly the flags of the East African Community and Kenya in Goma, eastern DRC.
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There are advantages to a regional force overseen by the East African Community – particularly as the bloc is leading new political talks.
Troops drive through Goma in eastern DRC in November 2022.
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Consolidating peace efforts across the vast territory has proved difficult for close to three decades. Scholars explain why.
Men hold up protest signs in front of the coffins of DRC refugees killed in August 2004 in Gatumba, Burundi.
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Violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo is used to win a place in government, not to overthrow it. And it keeps working.
Rwandan president Paul Kagame speaks during a governance event in the US.
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The US has become one of Rwanda’s staunchest defenders.
A Congolese soldier in Goma during protests against the UN peacekeeping mission in July 2022.
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Protests are likely to continue over the coming months, particularly in the run-up to the Congo presidential elections next year.