link to article: https://www.dw.com/en/congo-deadly-violence-in-a-national-park/a-61368064?maca=en-rss_en_allafrica_southafrica-10071-xml-mrss
It has been reported that park rangers in combination with the Congolese military attacked and burned a village of Batwa people who are indegenous to the land where the Kahuzi-Biega National Park is located, however the government denies these allegations. The Batwa people are an ethnic minority in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and have historically been the victims of targeted attacks by the Congolese government. Despite the denial of these allegations two park rangers have anonymously stated that the recent attacks did in fact occur as have others in the past. They said that the attacks would be carried out in cooperation with the Congolese army and they would attack the villages with assault rifles and they would burn houses to the ground. The Batwa people were also threatened that if they did not leave their land, they would be exterminated. Following this, the majority of the Batwa population took refuge in a construction site but are in very poor condition with no access to clean water and little food.
This is an important article because it highlights the issues within the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The DRC has faced widespread ethinic tensions since it gained independence from Belgium in 1960. The government of the DRC has historically struggled to maintain control over its population with ethinic tensions always high and rebel groups active throughout the country, especially in the east. This largely stems from the borders that were drawn as a result of decolonization which placed as many as 200 different ethic groups within the country, with two large populations in the west and east respectively which are separated by nearly impassable rainforests.
This article is related to class because the Democratic Republic of the Congo is a sovereign state that is having and has historically had problems with ethnic tensions. Despite the UN mission MONUSCO having been in the country for over 20 years, the situation in the country has not markedly improved and is still struggling with rebel groups in the east and south of the country fighting to overthrow the government. The government of the DRC is strongly authoritarian and mainly holds their focus on the west of the country, while also eliminating anyone who may pose a threat to them including ethnic minorities, which is where most of the rebel groups originate from.