What's the fighting in DR Congo all about?
AFPThe mineral-rich east of the Democratic Republic of Congo has been dogged by conflict for more than 30 years, since the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
Numerous armed groups have competed with the central authorities for power and control of the potential fortune in this vast nation.
The instability has sucked in neighbouring countries to devastating effect – notoriously in the 1990s when two huge conflicts, dubbed Africa's World Wars, resulted in the deaths of millions of people.
An upsurge in the conflict since the beginning of this year which saw major advances by a rebel group known as the M23 has renewed attention on the region.
What has the M23 done?
After the M23 captured a number of key cities and towns, talk of a peace deal is now in the air.
The group's first major advance was at the end of January with the taking of Goma – a city in North Kivu province that is home to more than a million people.
Sitting on the border with Rwanda and the shores of Lake Kivu, Goma is a vital trading and transport hub that is within reach of mining towns supplying metals and minerals in high demand.
In February, the M23 also seized another important city in the region, South Kivu provincial capital Bukavu.
Fighting between the M23 and the Congolese army and allied militia has continued in the region as the rebels attempt to expand their territory.
At one point, they threatened to target the nation's capital, Kinshasa - a city 2,600km (1,600 miles) away, on the other side of this vast country.
Who are the M23?
The M23 is led by ethnic Tutsis, who say they needed to take up arms to protect the rights of the minority group.
They say that several previous deals to end decades of fighting in the region have not been respected - they take their name from a peace agreement that was signed with a previous Tutsi-led rebel group on 23 March 2009.
Shortly after its creation in 2012, the M23 rapidly gained territory and seized Goma – acts that were met with international opprobrium and accusations of war crimes and human rights violations.
It was forced to withdraw from Goma, and then suffered a series of heavy defeats at the hands of the Congolese army along with a UN force that saw it expelled from the country.
M23 fighters then agreed to be integrated into the army in return for promises that Tutsis would be protected.
But, in 2021, the group took up arms again, saying the promises had been broken.
Is Rwanda involved in the fighting?
M23 leader Sultani Makenga is a Congolese Tutsi who previously fought in the Rwandan army.
Rwanda has in the past consistently denied that it supported the M23, but ever since 2012 UN experts have accused it of providing weapons, logistical support and even ultimately commanding the rebels.
DR Congo's government, as well as the US and France, have also identified Rwanda as backing the group. Last year, a UN experts report said that up to 4,000 Rwandan troops were fighting alongside the M23. The UK suspended some aid to Rwanda accusing its army of supporting the rebels.
In February, Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo told the BBC that the country's troops were deployed along its border to prevent the conflict spilling over to its territory.
Rwanda previously said it was being scapegoated and blamed the recent fighting on the Congolese authorities, saying they had refused to enter into a dialogue with the M23.
What is the connection with Rwanda?
The origin of the current fighting can partly be traced back to the genocide in Rwanda in 1994.
About 800,000 people – mostly from the Tutsi community - were slaughtered by ethnic Hutu extremists.
The genocide ended with the advance of a force of Tutsi-led rebels commanded by Paul Kagame, who is now president.
Fearing reprisals, an estimated one million Hutus then fled across the border to what is now DR Congo. This stoked ethnic tensions as a marginalised Tutsi group in the east – the Banyamulenge – felt increasingly under threat.
Rwanda's army twice invaded DR Congo, saying it was going after some of those responsible for the genocide, and worked with members of the Banyamulenge and other armed groups.
After 30 years of conflict, one of the Hutu groups, the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), which includes some of those responsible for the Rwandan genocide, is still active in eastern DR Congo.
Rwanda describes the FDLR as a "genocidal militia" and says its continued existence in the DR Congo's east threatens its own territory. The Rwandan spokesperson said the FDLR wanted to return to Rwanda to "finish the job".
Rwanda accuses the Congolese authorities of working with the FDLR - accusations which DR Congo denies. It is unlikely to stay out of DR Congo unless it is satisfied that the FDLR is no longer a threat to itself, or to the Tutsi communities in eastern DR Congo.
What of the moves towards peace in DR Congo?
In recent weeks, there have been rapid developments towards finding a solution to the conflict after months of frustration as efforts, led by Angola, to broker a sustainable ceasefire kept on breaking down.
- 18 March - Congolese President Félix Tshisekedi and Kagame called for an "immediate ceasefire" after having direct talks in Qatar
- 23 April - DR Congo and the M23 agreed to halt fighting in the east until Qatar-mediated peace talks reach their "conclusion"
- 25 April - DR Congo and Rwanda signed an agreement in Washington to respect each other's sovereignty and come up with a draft peace deal.
Despite these agreements there were reports that fighting was continuing in the east with the M23 taking more villages in South Kivu province.
Nevertheless, the US, with an eye on striking mineral deals with both countries, is urging DR Congo and Rwanda to sign a deal by July.
What about Congo's mineral wealth?
DR Congo and multiple UN reports have accused Rwanda of using the conflict as a way of looting Congolese minerals, such as gold and coltan, which is used to make mobile phones and other electronic items such as cameras and inside cars.
In recent years, the M23 has seized several lucrative mining areas and a report by UN experts last December said that around 120 tonnes of coltan was being sent by the M23 to Rwanda every four weeks.
Rwanda has consistently denied allegations of exploiting DR Congo's minerals.
Meanwhile, the Congolese government is negotiating a minerals deal with the US with the hope that it could help quell the violence. The US is also aiming to make a similar deal with Rwanda, President Donald Trump's senior advisor for Africa Massad Boulos told the Reuters news agency.
What are the UN peacekeepers doing?
A UN peacekeeping mission has been in place since 1999. The current force – known as Monusco – is made up of more than 10,000 troops.
However, of these, only the Force Intervention Brigade is allowed to carry out offensive operations against armed groups. It was this force that helped defeat the M23 in 2013.
Monusco has been the target of anger from ordinary Congolese who see it as failing to do its job. President Tshisekedi, deeming the mission a failure, had asked it to leave by the end of last year.
But the departure was delayed and in December the mission was extended for another year.
A military force from Southern African Development Community (Sadc), a regional grouping of 16 countries, that was deployed in late 2023 began withdrawing at the end of April.
It had failed to halt the M23 advance and in March its mission was terminated.
This came after 14 South African soldiers were killed in January, along with several more from Malawi and Tanzania.
More about the conflict in DR Congo:
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