Did you know that the central African countries of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda have been involved in conflicts with each other since their first years of independence from Belgium?

The two African countries of Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda both share a border that is 221 kilometers (137.32 miles) in length. Their modern relations have origins that date back to the European colonial era, as both were colonial possessions of Belgium between 1919 and 1960, and were impacted by the two world wars.

Both Rwanda and Congo experienced violent upheavals during their first years of independence, with the Congo (named Zaire from 1971 to 1997) left with a weak central authority, and Rwanda dealing with periodic raids and incursions from expelled Tutsi rebels in the east of the Congo.

In the aftermath of the Rwandan Civil War, and especially the Rwandan genocide, millions of Hutu fled into Zaire, prompting Rwanda and a coalition of allied countries to launch an offensive in 1996. Both the First and Second Congo Wars (which heavily involved Rwanda) devastated the DRC, the damage of which continued to impact the country into the early 21st century. In January 2025, the DRC severed diplomatic ties with Rwanda amidst the Kivu conflict.

The Kivu conflict is an umbrella term for a series of protracted armed conflicts in the North Kivu and South Kivu provinces in the eastern DRC which have occurred since the end of the Second Congo War. Including neighboring Ituri province, there are more than 120 different armed groups active in the eastern DRC. 

Currently, some of the most active rebel groups include the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), the Cooperative for the Development of the Congo (CDC), the March 23 Movement (M23), and many local Mai Mai militias. In addition to rebel groups and the governmental FARDC troops, a number of national and international organizations have intervened militarily in the conflict, including the United Nations force (MONUSCO) and an East African Community regional force.

Despite the agreement and subsequent ceasefire, relations between the DRC and Rwanda remained tense., Kagame blamed the DRC for failing to suppress the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a rebel group led by Rwandan Hutu operating in North and South Kivu. In turn, Joseph Kabila accused Rwanda of using the Hutu as a "pretext for maintaining its control and influence in the area". Since 2003, Rwanda and the DRC have both cooperated with, and fought against, each other during military operations on Congolese territory.

In July 2009, the DRC and Rwanda appointed ambassadors between each other's countries. In August that year, Kabila and Kagame met with each other in Goma, marking the first presidential meeting between the two countries since 1996. Kabila considered it a positive development, while Kagame promised that "Rwanda would never be a base [of operations] for militias that could destabilise Congo."

Beginning in 2022, tensions heightened between the DRC and Rwanda, marking a significant breakdown in relations between the two countries. Amid this, Rwandan forces have crossed into the DRC multiple times, usually fighting alongside Congolese rebels known as the M23, in a crisis related to an ongoing offensive that began in March 2022 by the M23 which the DRC, United Nations, United States, and other Western countries accuse Rwanda of not only supporting but actively fighting for. 

Rwanda and M23 have also accused the DRC of working together with the FDLR, an ethnic Hutu paramilitary group that took part in the Rwandan Genocide. Both the Congo and Rwanda have however denied they support the FDLR and M23, respectively, contrary to research and reports that confirm both sides' allegations.

The MONUSCO peacekeeping mission has maintained that it is not involved in the conflict apart from its role in defending the region from militants, but has been accused by Rwanda of taking sides due to its cooperation with the Congolese armed forces. Meanwhile, the Congolese government has asked MONUSCO peacekeepers to leave the DRC due to a "failure to protect civilians from armed groups."

Fighting between Congolese forces and Rwandan-backed M23 rebels resumed in October 2024 after having slowed down following to a truce mediated by Angola in early August, and intensified towards the end of the year. Planned negotiations between Rwandan president Paul Kagame and Congolese president Felix Tshisekedi in December were cancelled over disagreements about preconditions. 

During January 2025, the rebels carried out an offensive on Goma, the capital of the DRC's North Kivu province, displacing over 400,000 people and causing the DRC to cut off its diplomatic ties with Rwanda. The Congolese government called Rwandan military support for the rebels a "declaration of war." UN sources estimated that around 500–1,000 Rwandan troops are helping the M23 rebels in the Goma area. 

SOURCE: Wikipedia 

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