The democratic republic of congo is the scene of the world’s most neglected major war. Some 5.5m Congolese have been forced from their homes, a number second only to Syria. Violence in the east of this vast central African country is intensifying, as our report describes. Despite the imposition of martial law, the deployment of soldiers to run the two bloodiest provinces and the central government’s confident boast that things are getting better, they are not. Even those who have not fled their homes fear the arrival of armed men who rob, rape and murder with impunity.
For decades the mayhem in eastern Congo has destabilised the region. The country imploded between 1998 and 2003, and troops from eight other countries barged in to fight over its mineral wealth. Perhaps 1m-5m people died in that war, mostly of conflict-induced starvation or disease. Today, the neighbours still meddle, and Congo’s lawlessness holds back all of the East African Community (EAC), a bloc of about 300m people.
Any effort to end the war must start with trying to understand its causes. About 120 armed groups terrorise locals and fight one another, and the army, for control of gold and other natural treasures. The war is not one of state against state. Nor does it involve separatists or rebels trying to topple the government. Rather, it embodies what Jason Stearns, an author, calls the “new face of African warfare”: long-running, fragmented conflicts over land, resources and the desire for protection against the armed group next door. These typically involve many such groups, in countries where states are too weak to impose order.
Congo’s ills stretch back to colonial times, but their cure lies in contemporary politics. Some politicians in Kinshasa would rather let ambitious army officers grow rich in the far-off east than have them back in the capital, possibly plotting coups. The army, for its part, seems to enjoy the power that martial law has given it since it was imposed on parts of eastern Congo last year. Many military men are neck-deep in smuggling, extortion and graft, not to mention human-rights abuses. Efforts to professionalise the force have made little progress.
What can be done? The West could start by withholding aid from countries that refuse to stop supporting rebel groups, such as m23, which the un says is backed by Rwanda. It should also press Félix Tshisekedi, who became Congo’s president after a rigged vote in 2018, to allow fair and free elections next year. Donors could help promote slightly better governance by funding civil-society organisations.
East Africa has a role, too. Kenya has agreed to host talks between the government and rebel groups. And to his credit, Mr Tshisekedi has brought Congo into the EAC and approved a plan for a regional force commanded by a Kenyan officer. But the difficulties faced by the un’s peacekeeping mission should serve as a warning. The blue helmets, who have been trying to keep a lid on the killing in eastern Congo since the 1990s, are increasingly blamed by locals for not succeeding. That is understandable but unfair: there is only so much outsiders can do.
The main responsibility for stopping the conflict lies with the Congolese government. It should end martial law, which far from restoring calm has led to an increase in killings and is deeply unpopular. It should try to cut peace deals with rebel groups and demobilise their fighters, who should be offered alternative ways to make a living besides looting. And it should urgently make the army more accountable; a bona fide effort to do so would attract donor funds.
Mr Tshisekedi must also show that he has a plan to improve governance. Besides curbing the army, he should try harder to provide the basic services, from schools to justice, whose absence fuels rebellion. In some areas, such as health, charities could do more if they were not constantly menaced by gunmen.
Everything about Congo is immense: its size, its natural resources and its problems. But that is no excuse for fatalism when there is a path, however difficult, to quelling the violence in the east, where war is a way of life, not a cause. ■
