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Who is in charge in DRC currently?
Photo: Getty Images
In December 2023, the Democratic Republic of Congos President Felix Tshisekedi won re-election.
Why is the population of DRC suffering?
Armed groups vie for control of Congolese mining zones.
These rebel groups violently occupy parts of Congo, killing peoplewith impunity.
Poverty due to the instability leads others to resort to artisanal mining (i.e.
mining independently and trading with companiesdirectly) to make money, often earning belowminimum wage.
These minerschildren as well as adultsare endangered bypoor safety regulations.
Thesoil and wateris also contaminated as a result of the mining.
Nearlyseven million peoplehave been internally displaced.
This insecurity has caused the largest hunger crisis in the world, affecting26 million people.
Who is behind it?
Neighboring countries, particularly Rwanda, according tothe UN, are behind the violence.
What is their vested interest?
Some neighboring countries are out tocontrol its mining zones.
For China and the West, the point is to maintaincheaperproduction prices for electronics.
Sixty-three percent of the worlds cobalt production comes from the DRC alone.
The latter three minerals are essential to produce electronics.
China owns and controls around70 to 80%of the mines in the DRC.
Whats the context?
This resulted in the deaths of at least 250,000 people.
To fund these wars, Congolese leaders sold mine sites to foreigners.
Rwanda is benefiting from the instability in the Congo, because they can then do business around its minerals.
The genocide keeps on going due to economic interests in the region, says Lomami.
When you analyse whats happening underneath the conflict, it is just the illegal exploitation of mines.
Resource-rich Congo has a long history of exploitation.
Hehalvedthe population there and made todays equivalent ofmore than a billion dollars.
TheWest installed a dictator, and kleptocratic Congolese elites ruled the mines.
During the Rwandan genocide, it wasFrancethat armed thegenocidiaresthat fled through Congos borders.
If you negotiate today with an armed group, another will come up.
There will be no end to the cycle of violence, he says.
A supporting army has proven effective in the past, Lomami explains.
In2009, the UN created an international brigade to fight against M23 alongside the Congolese army.
It led to three years of peace.
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