https://allafrica.com/view/group/main/main/id/00083461.html
On September 20th, Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi announced that Rwanda is supporting rebel group M23 and their activities along the eastern border of the nation. Tshisekedi condemned Rwanda for assisting the terrorist group with weapons and troops in massive amounts, and for commiting war crimes through their strong ties to the group. The DRC is also accusing Rwanda and M23 of attacking support groups from the UN in the area and seeking support by citing UN documentation of these events.
Conflicts between established states and individual groups in sub – Saharan Africa are a fairly constant factor in the region’s social and political dynamic, so this situation between Rwanda, M23, and the Democratic Republic of Congo is not extremely surprising. In addition, the DRC and Rwanda have experienced mutual conflict before, most significantly following the Rwandan genocide when millions of Rwandan refugees, including alleged perpetrators of the violence, flooded into the DRC. Shortly after, Rwandan officials launched an attack on the country in the name of bringing those in question to justice, angering the DRC government and escalating conflict. The history of this region in Africa looks to be coming into play as the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda governments decide how to respond to current tensions.
In the situation in sub – Saharan Africa, the roles of recognized states, stateless nations, and free floating groups are playing a part. The states of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo are interacting with each other, but groups of people without established states and groups not actively vying for statehood are playing a role as well. For example, the DRC is hostile towards Rwanda because of the groups it represents, although they are not established states, such as the rebel group M23 or religious sectors such as the Tutsis and Hutus.