DRC PROXY WAR IS ECONOMIC, NOT ETHNIC

Some have tried to justify the Western-backed, three-decade-long proxy mineral war in the Congo, claiming it is an ethnic war. They say the Rwanda- and Uganda-backed M23 rebels, whose capture of Goma city has k*lled nearly 3,000 Congolese and displaced hundreds of thousands in the most recent vicious cycle of violence, are fighting for marginalised Congolese Tutsis.

Despite mounting evidence that the scramble for Congo's vast resources has caused tensions between the players, people continue to believe it's an inter-ethnic battle, which only muddies the waters and makes the war seem more complex than it is.

With such narratives flying about, in Episode 18 of our ‘Pan-African Attitude’ podcast, Editor-in-Chief Ahmed Kaballo (@ahmedkaballo on X), journalist Sanna Arman (@sannario_ on X), and journalist Erick Gavala hosted an insightful conversation with Maurice Carney, co-founder and executive director of Friends of the Congo (@congofriends), a US-based advocacy organisation. In this clip, he explained why the war in the Congo is one of strategic and economic interests rather than an internal ethnic crisis.

You can watch the complete 6 February episode on our X, Rumble and Patreon platforms.

Sources:

https://friendsofthecongo.org/mission-vision

https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/democratic-republic-congo/faced-gun-what-can-you-do

https://cd.usembassy.gov/statement-of-concern-related-to-certain-minerals-supply-chains-from-rwanda-and-eastern-democratic-republic-of-the-congo-contributing-to-the-ongoing-co

https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/5/2/blood-minerals-what-are-the-hidden-costs-of-the-eu-rwanda-supply-deal

http://cdn-globalwitness-production-2.s3-website-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/archive/files/import/drc_release_uk_final.pdf

https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/%7B65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3-CF6E4FF96FF9%7D/DRC%20S%202002%201146.pdf