Embassies of large numbers of people from the United States, France, Belgium, Uganda, Rwanda... have been targeted on 28 January during riots in the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The reason for these attacks is that the city of Goma, 1,500 kilometers away, has been left in the hands of the March 23 organization: The fact that the M23 group supported by Rwanda has also been supported by the West is not accepted. The deployment of the armed group against the government has progressed in recent months and has accelerated since 25 January: With the capital of North Kivu now in their sights, Bukavu is South Kivu. M23 is also supported by the Congo River Alliance team, which was set up two years ago. The latter was created by Corneille Nangaa, one of the main opponents of the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Felix Tshisekedi.

In an attempt to find a way out of the political crisis, the East African Community (EAC) held a special meeting on Wednesday night. The Angolan president, Joao Lourenco, is acting as mediator, demanding an end to the "illegal occupations" of M23 and an "immediate retreat" of the Rwandan army. The UN Security Council has also denounced the position of the armed group, asking the Rwandan army to leave the Congo.

The attacks of the last days in Goma have caused the death of about a hundred people and the beating of a thousand. The UN also reiterates that “the situation is really worrying” with regard to displaced persons. In the Golan, let’s say, it’s a million and looking at the whole Congo, since the beginning of the year, 500,000 people have left their homes. Since the Second Congo War of 1998-2002, which forms the basis of the current conflict, 6.2 million people in the eastern part of the country have been displaced.

Passing over the ceasefire

On 30 July, Congolese and Rwandan leaders signed a ceasefire to end the fighting between M23 and the Congolese army. It entered into force on 4 August, but has since been violated several times by both parties. The Presidents of the Congo and Rwanda were due to meet on 15 December, convened by the President of Angola. But the meeting was finally cancelled, with disagreements over: Rwanda wanted the M23 and the Congolese army itself to participate in the negotiations; but it did not want that, because the Congo has the M23 as a "terrorist group" and a "Rwandan puppet".

At the base of the conflict, minerals, among others

The economy has its importance in this conflict. In fact, the provinces of North and South Kivu are rich in minerals – especially coltan and nickel, which are used on smartphones. In fact, the founders of M23 are the militia members of the National Assembly for the Defence of the People (CNDP), who were rearmed in 2012 for failing to respect the agreement reached between the Congolese Government and the CNDP in 2009, with the M23 structure. Among other things, the treaty stated that the rebels had control of these lands. Congolese leaders are accused of failing to respect this.

According to a UN report, M23 currently exports 120 tons of coltan per month, and the taxes it imposes on its production ensure a monthly income of around $800,000.