{"id":6424,"date":"2025-02-17T17:03:27","date_gmt":"2025-02-17T17:03:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/subsaharanafricablog\/?p=6424"},"modified":"2025-02-17T17:03:27","modified_gmt":"2025-02-17T17:03:27","slug":"congo-says-rwanda-backed-rebels-occupy-a-2nd-major-city-in-its-mineral-rich-east","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/subsaharanafricablog\/2025\/02\/17\/congo-says-rwanda-backed-rebels-occupy-a-2nd-major-city-in-its-mineral-rich-east\/","title":{"rendered":"Congo says Rwanda-backed rebels occupy a 2nd major city in its mineral-rich east"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Link to article: https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/congo-m23-rebels-bukavu-southkivu-14527185304baa9a5e40eff4cfccba85<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The M23 Rwanda-backed rebels have somewhat taken their second major city in eastern Congo. The rebels have stationed themselves at the governor’s office in the city of Bukavu, vowing to “clean up after the old regime”. Many residents cheered the group upon entering the city (after their march from Goma, a city they seized last month). M23 was met with little resistance from government forces, with the government pledging to bring back order in Bukavu, but showing no signs of doing so. With more than 100 armed groups struggling for control over eastern Congo’s profitable mineral wealth, the M23 rebels have established themselves as the most dominant group. The leader of M23, who claims to be cleaning up the country from the old regime, has been sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council for rights abuses. This conflict has been a priority in discussions for the African Union who fear its spread. The fighting has displaced more than 6 million people in the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the fall of Goma, yet another city to fall to M23 in Congo marks the escalation of the ongoing conflict. Reports of the Congo government’s challenges in maintaining control are looking hopeful for the rebel group. The government’s inability to counter these rebel groups seems similar to a past conflict I followed in the Middle East, that being the fall of the Assad regime. Much like in Congo with the quick fall of cities and little to no government support, the Assad regime was weak in defending major locations that ultimately led to its downfall. It poses the question that if these conditions are truly similar, will the Congolese government soon cease to exist as well? Another similarity to point out is that fact that these two areas lie in shatterbelt regions where countries are prone to instability. These environments foster the quick rise of combating groups that challenge the current ruling authority. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regionally, the areas M23 is after are the east provinces prized for their vast mineral resources that if controlled could be used as economic and political leverage. Neighboring countries have already been drawn into the conflict with various groups supporting either side. The roots of this conflict trace back to the aftermath of the Rwandan Genocide where numerous armed groups emerged often siding along ethnic ties. The M23 group is composed mostly of Tutsi forces, who have been given support by Rwanda who is concerned about the Hutu militias operating in Congo. The amount of people who have been displaced in Congo due to this conflict has made it the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. With the continued fighting, only more will continue to get displaced.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Link to article: https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/congo-m23-rebels-bukavu-southkivu-14527185304baa9a5e40eff4cfccba85 The M23 Rwanda-backed rebels have somewhat taken their second major city in eastern Congo. The rebels have stationed themselves at the governor’s office in the city of Bukavu, vowing to “clean up after the old regime”. Many residents cheered the group upon entering the city (after their march from Goma, a city they seized last month)…. Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":303,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6424","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/subsaharanafricablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6424","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/subsaharanafricablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/subsaharanafricablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/subsaharanafricablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/303"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/subsaharanafricablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6424"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/subsaharanafricablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6424\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6429,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/subsaharanafricablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6424\/revisions\/6429"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/subsaharanafricablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6424"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/subsaharanafricablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6424"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baileyonlineclassroom.com\/subsaharanafricablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}