- African Leaders Demand Action
The conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has reached a critical juncture, with African leaders convening an unprecedented joint summit of the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) on February 8, 2025, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The summit aimed to address the escalating violence fuelled by the M23 rebel group, which the DRC and international observers accuse Rwanda of supporting. The meeting underscored the deepening regional divide, with eastern African nations leaning toward dialogue and southern African states condemning Rwanda’s alleged role in the crisis. The leaders called for an immediate ceasefire, the withdrawal of foreign forces from Congolese soil, and direct talks with the rebels—a rare acknowledgment of the need to engage armed groups in peace efforts.
The M23, an ethnic Tutsi-led rebel movement, has made significant territorial gains in recent months, capturing Goma, the largest city in eastern DRC, and advancing toward Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province. The group’s resurgence, which began in late 2021 after nearly a decade of dormancy, has displaced over 1.5 million people, adding to the 7 million already internally displaced in the DRC—the highest number in Africa. The United Nations estimates that 178,000 people fled their homes in January 2025 alone, as M23 fighters seized strategic towns like Minova, a key supply route to Goma. The humanitarian toll is staggering: over 38,000 cases of sexual violence were reported in North Kivu province in the first quarter of 2023, a 37% increase from the previous year, according to UNICEF.
At the heart of the conflict lies Rwanda’s alleged support for the M23. A July 2024 UN expert report accused Rwanda of deploying 3,000 to 4,000 troops alongside the rebels, providing them with advanced weaponry, including surface-to-air missiles and GPS jamming equipment. The report described Rwanda as the “de facto” leader of M23 operations, a claim Kigali has repeatedly denied. Rwanda’s government insists its actions are defensive, aimed at neutralizing the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a Hutu-led militia based in eastern DRC. The FDLR’s leaders are linked to the 1994 Rwandan genocide, in which 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed. Rwanda argues that the DRC’s failure to dismantle the FDLR poses an existential threat to its security and justifies its military posture.
However, evidence of Rwanda’s involvement continues to mount. UN experts have documented Rwandan troops operating in DRC’s North Kivu province, with geolocated images placing them in strategic towns like Sake. The rebels’ access to high-tech weaponry, including drones and anti-aircraft systems, has grounded the Congolese military’s air assets, tipping the balance of power. Human Rights Watch has also accused both the Rwandan army and M23 of indiscriminately shelling civilian areas, including displacement camps around Goma, which hosts over 500,000 internally displaced people. The Congolese government has gone further, accusing Rwanda of orchestrating a “terrorist enterprise” to destabilize the DRC and plunder its mineral wealth.
The DRC’s eastern provinces are among the world’s richest in natural resources, including gold, coltan, and tin—minerals critical for manufacturing electronics and electric vehicle batteries. UN reports allege that M23 exports approximately 120 tonnes of coltan to Rwanda every four weeks, fueling the conflict’s economic engine. The illegal mineral trade, valued at billions annually, has long been a driver of violence in the region, with Rwanda and Uganda frequently accused of benefiting from the chaos. Uganda, too, has been implicated in the current crisis, with UN experts reporting that its military intelligence officers have coordinated with M23 leaders in the border town of Bunagana.
The regional response has been fraught with division. The EAC, which includes Rwanda, has pushed for direct talks between the DRC and M23, a stance Kinshasa vehemently rejects. The DRC views the rebels as a Rwandan proxy and insists that negotiations must focus on Rwanda’s withdrawal. Meanwhile, SADC, led by South Africa, has condemned Rwanda’s actions and reaffirmed its commitment to DRC’s sovereignty. South African troops, part of a regional peacekeeping force deployed in December 2023, have suffered heavy losses, with 16 soldiers killed in clashes with M23 around Goma in the past week alone. This has escalated tensions between South Africa and Rwanda, with President Cyril Ramaphosa warning that further attacks on South African troops would be considered a “declaration of war.” Rwanda’s Paul Kagame dismissed the warning, accusing South Africa of aligning with “genocidal militias” like the FDLR.
See Also: Thousands Abandon Their Homes Amid DR Congo Battles
The international community has struggled to respond effectively. The United States, France, and Britain have condemned Rwanda’s actions but stopped short of imposing sanctions, wary of alienating a key African ally. Rwanda’s disciplined peacekeeping forces have been instrumental in UN missions across the continent, and its willingness to host asylum seekers from Europe has bolstered its diplomatic leverage. Germany has threatened to suspend aid, and the UK has warned of withholding £32 million in annual assistance, but these measures have yet to materialize into decisive action. Meanwhile, the UN Security Council has called for Rwanda to withdraw its forces and for M23 to halt its offensive, but enforcement remains elusive.
African leaders at the Dar es Salaam summit sought to bridge the regional divide by merging the EAC and SADC peace processes and proposing additional facilitators from other parts of the continent. They also urged defense chiefs from both blocs to meet within five days to outline a plan for an “immediate and unconditional ceasefire.” However, the prospects for peace remain uncertain. The DRC’s President Félix Tshisekedi has rejected dialogue with M23, vowing to “reconquer every inch” of Congolese territory. Kagame, meanwhile, shows no signs of backing down, framing Rwanda’s actions as a necessary defense against external threats.
The conflict’s roots run deep, stretching back to the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide, when Hutu militias fled to eastern DRC and sowed the seeds of decades-long instability. The First and Second Congo Wars (1996–1997 and 1998–2003), often dubbed “Africa’s World Wars,” drew in multiple neighbouring countries and resulted in millions of deaths, mostly from disease and malnutrition. Today, the DRC remains a battleground for over 120 armed groups, with M23 only the most prominent. The competition for mineral wealth, ethnic tensions, and weak governance have created a volatile mix, exacerbated by external interference.
As the conflict escalates, the humanitarian crisis deepens. Nearly 6 million people were already displaced before the latest offensive, and the UN warns of famine and disease outbreaks if the violence continues. The international community’s muted response, distracted by other global crises, has left African nations to bear the brunt. For now, the region teeters on the edge of a broader war, with the potential to destabilize the entire Great Lakes region. The summit’s call for action reflects the urgency, but without concrete steps to address Rwanda’s role and the underlying drivers of the conflict, a lasting resolution remains elusive.