Democratic Republic of the Congo: Behind the Crisis

In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), UN peacekeepers are often in the line of fire. Nevertheless, Monday's attacks signaled a dramatic change in the crisis. According to news reports, thousands of Congolese civilians hurled rocks at four UN offices in the eastern DRC. These heated demonstrations were designed to protest the organization's failure to stop a rebel advance on the provincial capital, Goma.

At one location, peacekeepers fired shots into the air to disperse the violent crowd. The UN Congo mission has 17,000 troops, but has struggled to bring any measure of stability to the war-torn country. In the last two months, more than 200,000 people have been forced from their homes, and the growing refugee problem is exacerbating shortages of food and medical supplies.

The most recent fighting comes on the heels of a rebel onslaught that began on August 28. The rebel leader, Renegade General Laurent Nkunda, recently vowed to seize the lakeside city of Goma, and suggested he would expand his liberation movement throughout Congo. Mr Nkunda's forces, known as the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP), claim to operate in the eastern DRC so as to protect ethnic Tutsis from Hutu militiamen that escaped neighboring Rwanda after the 1994 genocide.

Back in January, Mr Nkunda signed a cease-fire agreement with President Joseph Kabila. The peace, however, was short lived. The DRC government failed to incorporate critical measures into the deal (specifically neglecting CNDP concerns for Rwanda's interest), and Mr Nkunda pulled out of the agreement on February 22. It is reported that the Tutsi-led government in Rwanda has been supporting Mr Nkunda's forces since the end of the 1998-2003 DRC civil war.

Mr Nkunda, who joined the Tutsi Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) during that country's genocide, effectively operates as a proxy for the Rwandan government. Operating in the mineral rich North Kivu province, Mr Nkunda's forces have helped the Rwandan government gain some control of region's valuable resource trade. Such access is critical for a country where 90% of the population depends on subsistence farming.

As a consequence, Mr Nkunda's forces are as great a threat to economic security as they are to political stability in the DRC.  Violence in the region effectively forces mining extraction companies to deal with the government in Rwanda rather than in the DRC. The lack of roads and railways, as well as the risk of rebel attacks, make it nearly impossible for goods and equipment to travel across the DRC to the Atlantic coast. Instead, new mining contracts are slated to use Rwandan infrastructure.

The Congolese army shoes no signs of being able to expel Mr Nkunda's CNDP. The DRC force is a patchwork of previously defeated troops, rebel fighters, and militia groups. According to local reports, these soldiers make little more than $20 per month. Such woeful disorganization stands in direct contrast to Mr Nkunda's well-organized and better-armed outfit. What is more, part of the UN mandate in the DRC is to help disarm the Congolese army. The move is designed to help protect citizens, but appears inconsistent with realities on the ground.

It seems likely that conflict in the eastern DRC will continue until President Kabila addresses Rwanda's economic interest in the region. Natural resources are a often a mixed blessing in Africa, and the DRC is no exception. For now, the UN is planning helicopter attacks against the CNDP forces near Goma. Peacekeepers must take the necessary measures (including force) to protect Congolese civilians. But the crisis in the DRC will not be solved with bullets.

Soon there must be another round of difficult negotiations with the rebels. This time, the DRC government had better consider the interests of their neighbors.