Goma, 10 February, 2025 / 10:10 pm (ACI Africa).
The violent conflict in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that has escalated in recent weeks resulting in reported deaths of thousands and the displacement of many more is rooted in “a complex” web of factors, including foreign interference and resource exploitation, a Religious Missionary, who hails from the Congolese embattled region has told ACI Africa.
In an interview with ACI Africa, Br. Adolphe Mulengezi Mihingano of the Institute of the Consolata Missionaries (IMC) said, “The crisis eastern DRC is the result a complex combination of historical, economic, political and geopolitical factors. Eastern DRC is rich in natural resources including gold, coltan, cobalt, diamonds and other strategic minerals used in the global technology industry.”
In the February 6 interview, Br. Mulengezi said that the precious natural resources in his native country attract “greed” on the part of “local and international players, including multinationals and rebel groups. The latter illegally exploit the mines and finance their activities from the sale of these minerals, perpetuating a cycle of violence.”
On January 27, the Rwandan-backed March 23 Movement (M23) rebels announced that its forces had taken over the capital of Eastern Province of the DRC, Goma, Reuters reported.
“Rwandan-backed rebels marched into eastern Congo's largest city Goma on Monday (January 27), and the U.N. said they were supported by at least some regular Rwandan troops, in the worst escalation of a long-running conflict for more than a decade,” the January 27 Reuters report indicated.