Description: Leaders from Rwanda and Congo have discussed the ongoing armed conflict and humanitarian crisis in DR Congo where DRC military and rebel group M23 have clashed repeatedly over the past couple of months. Rwandan President Paul Kagame was physically present at the summit in Tanzania while Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi joined via video call. Both Presidents have called upon the seizure of violence, which saw M23 rebels overwhelm the city of Goma and advance towards the North Kivu province leaving many dead and plunging the country into a widened humanitarian crisis. The opening of humanitarian corridor has also been discussed as more than 3,000 people have been killed only in the Goma advance. The M23 rebel group has continuously been related to have been state – sponsored by Rwanda, South Africa, Burundi and Malawi.
Impact: The DRC crisis has taken a wider swing in the past week followed with the brutal and violent fighting near Goma and the prison break which wreaked havoc. The willingness from both Congolese and Rwandan presidents indicate that a potential ceasefire agreement could be soon on the table. The exclusion of international mediators and other African countries in the dialogue could be potentially perceived as their protection of sole interests and that the crisis is in someone’s favor currently, from a geopolitical and geo strategical standpoint of view. The conflict could very well spill into neighboring countries and become a regional problem in the near future if some sort of concessions aren’t reached between DRC and Rwanda governments. The armed conflict has a political background but is instigated in order for forces to have control over the mineral rich eastern parts of the DRC, which could be further prolonged as the battle for regional natural resource dominance continued.