
Violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo
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Sub-Saharan Africa
Limited
Unchanging
Political Instability
Recent Developments
Opposition leader Félix Tshisekedi was declared the winner of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) presidential elections held in late December 2018 and was inaugurated in January 2019. The transfer of power from former President Joseph Kabila, who ruled for eighteen years and had delayed elections multiple times, marked the first peaceful transfer of power in the DRC’s history. However, election results have since been questioned. Technical issues and irregularities, including a delay in voting for more than a million people, marred the election itself and polling data indicates that a different opposition leader, Martin Fayulu, may have actually won.
Tshisekedi inherited a number of crises across the DRC, including an Ebola outbreak in the east and ongoing violence across the country, particularly in the Ituri, Kasai, and Kivu regions. More than one hundred armed groups, such as the Ugandan Allied Democratic Forces, are believed to operate in the eastern region of the DRC. Despite the presence of more than sixteen thousand UN peacekeepers, these groups continue to terrorize communities and control weakly governed areas. Millions of civilians have been forced to flee the fighting: the United Nations estimates there are currently 4.5 million internally displaced persons in the DRC, and more than 800,000 DRC refugees in other nations.
Background
The origins of the current violence in the DRC are in the massive refugee crisis and spillover from the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. After Hutu génocidaires fled to eastern DRC and formed armed groups, opposing Tutsi and other opportunistic rebel groups arose. The Congolese government was unable to control and defeat the various armed groups, some of which directly threatened populations in neighboring countries, and war eventually broke out.
From 1998 to 2003, government forces supported by Angola, Namibia, and Zimbabwe fought rebels backed by Rwanda and Uganda in what is known as the Second Congo War. While estimates vary greatly, the death toll may have reached over three million people. Despite a peace deal in 2002 and the formation of a transitional government in 2003, ongoing violence perpetrated by armed groups against civilians in the eastern region has continued, largely due to poor governance, weak institutions, and rampant corruption.
One of the most prominent rebel groups to emerge in the aftermath of the war was known as the March 23 Movement (M23), made up primarily of ethnic Tutsis who were allegedly supported by the Rwandan government. M23 rebelled against the Congolese government for supposedly reneging on a peace deal signed in 2009. The UN Security Council authorized an offensive brigade under the mandate of the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO) to support the DRC state army in its fight against M23. The Congolese army and UN peacekeepers defeated the group in 2013, but other armed groups have since emerged.
The country’s massive resource wealth—estimated to include $24 trillion of untapped mineral resources—also fuels violence. The mineral trade provides financial means for groups to operate and buy arms. The United States passed legislation in 2010 to reduce the purchase of “conflict minerals” and prevent the funding of armed militias, but complex supply chains in the DRC mineral sale business have made it difficult for companies that purchase resources from secondhand buyers to obtain certification. As a result, multinational companies have stopped buying minerals from the DRC altogether, putting many miners out of work and even driving some to join armed groups to gain a source of livelihood.
Concerns
Weak governance and the prevalence of many armed groups have subjected Congolese civilians to widespread rape and sexual violence, massive human rights violations, and extreme poverty. The African Union, United Nations, and neighboring countries have struggled to address threats posed by rebel groups and promote sustainable development. Continued violence in the DRC may eventually spill over into Burundi, Rwanda, and Uganda—countries with longstanding ties with the United States.
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A Visual Exploration of the Conflict
Violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo





Background Articles
Catherine Soi Al Jazeera October 8, 2019
Emmanuel Freudenthal New Humanitarian October 2, 2019
Naila Salihu African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes September 2, 2019
Congo Research Group August 2019
Philip Kleinfeld New Humanitarian August 13, 2019
Denise Grady New York Times July 17, 2019
Olivia Acland New Humanitarian July 9, 2019
New Humanitarian July 2, 2019
Vittoria Elliott New Humanitarian June 27, 2019
Nick Cumming-Bruce New York Times June 18, 2019
Sunguta West Jamestown Foundation May 31, 2019
Michael R. Snyder IPI Global Observatory May 22, 2019
Barbara Bibbo Al Jazeera May 22, 2019
Vittoria Elliott New Humanitarian May 2, 2019
Alexis Arieff Congressional Research Service April 30, 2019
Brian M. Perkins Jamestown Foundation April 22, 2019
Caleb Weiss Long War Journal April 18, 2019
Human Rights Watch February 14, 2019
Mvemba Phezo Dizolele Center for Strategic and International Studies January 25, 2019
Tatiana Carayannis and Herbert Weiss Foreign Affairs January 18, 2019
Sumayya Ismail IRIN January 10, 2019
Joseph Kabila and Stuart Reid Foreign Affairs December 14, 2018
Congo Research Group November 2018
Jason Burke Guardian November 25, 2018
Sarah Boseley Guardian November 16, 2018
Sumayya Ismail IRIN November 8, 2018
Andrew McGregor Jamestown Foundation November 2, 2018
Jonas Claes United States Institute of Peace September 4, 2018
John Mukum Mbaku Brookings Institution August 29, 2018
Luke Dennison IRIN August 28, 2018
Hans Hoebeke International Crisis Group August 16, 2018
Philip Kleinfeld and Alex McBride IRIN July 12, 2018
Global Center for the Responsibility to Protect July 16, 2018
International Crisis Group June 8, 2018
Diana Zeyneb Alhindawi and Jina Moore New York Times April 28, 2018
Max Bearak Washington Post April 6, 2018
Fiston Mahamba and Claude Sengenya IRIN April 4, 2018
Thijs Van Laer Congo Research Group March 5, 2018
Economist February 15, 2018
Stuart A. Reid Foreign Affairs January/February 2018
Congo Research Group December 10, 2017
Al Jazeera December 9, 2017
International Crisis Group December 4, 2017
Philip Kleinfeld Foreign Affairs Novemember 7, 2017
Elisabeth Caesens and Jason Stearns Congo Research Group October 10, 2017
Congo Research Group September 2017
Hannah Summers Guardian August 5, 2017
Kimiko de Freytas-Tamura New York Times July 28, 2017
William Clowes IRIN July 31, 2017
Kimiko de Freytas-Tamura New York Times July 23, 2017
Robyn Dixon Los Angeles Times June 26, 2017
Human Rights Watch
Kris Berwouts African Arguments June 15, 2017
Denise Grady New York Times May 18, 2017
Al Jazeera May 16, 2017
BBC April 25, 2017
Séverine Autesserre Foreign Affairs April 6, 2017
Jason Stearns, Koen Vlassenroot, Kasper Hoffmann, and Tatiana Carayannis Foreign Affairs March 16, 2017
Lauren Spink Center for Civilians in Conflict January 17, 2017
Merrit Kennedy NPR December 21, 2016
David Landry and Marcel Dirsus Foreign Affairs December 19, 2016
International Crisis Group September 15, 2016
Africa Center for Strategic Studies September 13, 2016
Miriam Berger Foreign Policy September 8, 2016
Richard Gowan World Politics Review May 2, 2016
Jeffrey Gettlman New York Times April 30, 2016
Latest CFR Analysis
Claire Felter CFR Article June 13, 2019
John Campbell CFR Blog, “Africa in Transition” May 3, 2019
Michelle D. Gavin CFR Blog, "Africa in Transition" February 6, 2019
Michelle D. Gavin Foreign Policy January 9, 2019
Claire Felter CFR Article December 20, 2018
Nolan Quinn CFR Blog, "Africa in Transition" August 30, 2018
Michelle D. Gavin CFR Blog, "Africa in Transition" August 15, 2018
John Campbell and Comfort Ero CFR Podcast June 20, 2018
Claire Felter CFR Backgrounder June 15, 2018
John Campbell CFR Blog, "Africa in Transition" June 8, 2017
CFR InfoGuide
Paul D. Williams CFR Council Special Report May 2015
John Campbell CFR Blog, "Africa in Transition" August 26, 2014
Allen Grane CFR Blog, “Africa in Transition” July 17, 2014
Jason Stearns and Irina A. Faskianos CFR Academic Conference Call March 26, 2014
Joshua Marks CFR Contingency Planning Memorandum May 2011
Primary Sources
U.S. Department of State October 18, 2018
U.S. Department of Treasury June 23, 2016
United Nations Security Council November 9, 2015
Readout of the President’s Call with President Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The White House March 31, 2015
United Nations Security Council March 26, 2015
U.S. Department of the Treasury
The World Bank