let's talk about the DRC volatile situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo the Democratic Republic of Congo is currently witnessing a brutal conflict with recent reports placing the death toll at over 700 in its largest eastern city of GMA this conflict in eastern DRC dates back to the 1990s however the present escalation is primarily due to the Resurgence of a rebel group called M23 a group I will tell you about shortly but first let me show you what exactly is happening right now the current escalation intensified in January 2025 resulting in the capture of GMA the capital of North K Province by the March 23 movement on January 27 2025 the M23 Rebel group is primarily composed of ethnic totes and has been active in the Eastern DRC for over a decade their Resurgence in recent years is attributed to claims that the congales government failed to honor a 2009 peace agreement which included integrating M23 Fighters into the national Army and addressing the protection of tosu communities against Hutu militias failure to meet their demands led to this renewed offensive which started in late 2024 since then the group has seized significant territories in North and South K provinces by January 23rd 2025 they had cut off road connections to GMA and reached the city's outskirt by January 25 despite resistance from the conges military United Nations peacekeepers and other Regional forces M23 breached defenses and entered GMA on January 27th leaving many dead in ja wake but am missst all of this the DRC government has accused a third party Rwanda of supporting M23 Fighters a claim supported by the United Nations this is resulting in growing tensions between the two countries threatening the people peace and stability of this region of Africa but why is this happening who are the other factions involved in this conflict and is this the start of a regional war on the continent of Africa in recent weeks a lot of people have reached out to me to learn how to express or communicate their ideas in the form of fulllength videos like I do you know the kind you've always wanted to create the kind you'd be excited to share within your peers in the most seamless intuitive way possible irrespective of your skill level now invid ai enables you to do just that all you have to do is type in the idea you want to create a video about it's pretty gamechanging you can even edit whatever you like using simple text commands like add my voice how cool is that now unlike traditional video tools with steep learning CES that only solve parts of your video creation process invid is the creative partner that you have always wanted it removes all friction and puts you in the director's seat letting you focus entirely on your vision and your idea while invid AI does all the heavy lifting you can try invid AI for free today this will save you hundreds of dollars that you would otherwise spend on editing animating and other production costs use the link in the description box below to start bringing your ideas to life today thank you in video for sponsoring this video now let's jump right back into our story to understand the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo particularly in this Eastern region we need to talk about its deep historical roots with ties to Colonial history ethnic tensions resource exploitation and international intervention now don't worry I promise not to bore you with so many details in the late 19th century King Leopold second of Belgium a man who had never set his foot in Africa looked upon a map and saw an opportunity not a land of people of cultures or of ancient kingdoms but a land of robber Ivory and boundless wealth the Congo free state as he called it became his personal property a brutal Empire where conges men and women and children had their hands cut off if they did not meet their daily robber quas leopard did not just steal resources he stole Futures but the legacy of this brutality did not end when Belgium officially took over the colony in 1908 the congales were never meant to rule themselves not in the eyes of their colonizers education was limited power was centralized in the hands of a select few and deep ethnic divisions were encouraged to ensure that Unity would never come this was called The Divide and Rule tactic to the east of this tortured Colony laid the kingdoms of Rwanda and Bundi small but powerful kingdoms ruled by by the tootsi aristocracy for centuries when the Europeans arrived here first the Germans then the belgians they found a society already divided into two primary groups the tootsie who were the elite headers who ruled this Kingdom and then we had the hu who were farmers who worked the lands but the Europeans saw something else the tootsies were tall slender with sharp features more Noble in appearance these was enough for the belgians to declare that the toi were Superior and natural born rulers the belgians pursued a racist policy in Rwanda sharing up hatred between Hutu and tootsi in order to maintain their Rule and so with the stroke of a pen and the issuance of identity cards the belgians turned an already complex social structure into a rigid racial K system for decades the belgians ruled through the tootsi giving them assess to education wealth and power while the hu were pushed deeper into poverty and resentment but then came Independence and suddenly the belgians fearing the revolution they had set in motion flipped the script they began empowering the Hutu majority encouraging them to overthrow their former toot rulers What followed was a bloodbath in 1959 Rwanda erupted in the Hutu Revolution a mass Uprising that saw thousands of tosti killed their homes burned their power dismantled many fled East into the vast Forest of the Congo others into Uganda where they sought Refuge among the congales tootsi communities that had lived there for centuries as Rwanda struggled with this conflict the neighboring Congo was getting set for its freedom from the Belgian Empire June 30th 1960 Independence comes to the Belgian Congo but just when this Empire collapsed in the 1960s the DRC fell into chaos shortly after the much anticipated Independence Patrick lumumba the drc's first elected leader was assassinated in a western backed Co Motu SEO the man propped up by the CIA ceased control he would later rename the country as Z ruling his people with an iron Feist for over over three decades meanwhile back in Rwanda the hotel made efforts to consolidate their power but the exiled to see never forgot what was taken from them many joined the Rwanda patriotic front Arabia group formed by the two SE that fled to Uganda they were led by this guy Paul kagami a man who would later shape the entire Great Lakes region in 1990 the Rwandan patriotic front known as as RPF invaded Northern Rwanda this began the Rwanda Civil War although neither side gained a decisive advantage in the war by 1992 Mass demonstrations first rers president javal habar Mana an ethnic Hutu into a coalition with the domestic opposition and to sign the 1993 arosia Accords with the RPF but this ceas fire didn't last on the evening of April 6th 19 94 the aircraft carrying Rwanda president jaenal habar mana and buruan president cyprian miror both ethnic hu was shut down with surface to a missile as their jet prepared to land in Kali Randa both men died in this attack and from here all hell broke close the Rwanda genocide began and in just a 100 days nearly a million tootsi were slaughtered by jutu Neighbors kagame's RPF managed to break through Enemy Lines and stormed into Rwanda overthrowing the hu government and taking power but not before millions of Hutu refugees including those responsible for this genocide fled into this Eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo still known as Z at the time and there among the forest and mountains the seeds of today's conflict were swn the Rwandan genocide did not end with kagame's Victory it spilled over to Z where Hutu militias known as the interam hid among civilian refugee camps this guy Moto SEO who had been ruling Z with an iron Feast welcomed these extremist as personal guests and allowed them to establish military and political bases in the Eastern territories from here they attacked and killed ethnic tosis across the border in Rwanda and in zire itself the new Rwandan government began sending military aid to the Zan Tois in response the resulting conflict began to destabilize Eastern zire as a whole things then got to a boiling point when Moto's government issued an order in November 1996 forcing to to leave Z on penalty of death from Eastern Z the rebels AED by Foreign government forces under the leadership of President Yi Mia of Uganda and Randa Minister of Defense Paul kagami launched an offensive to overthrow mbutu just when Hutu militias and genocide perpetrators thought they had found a place to regroup another crisis much worse than what they had started back at home [Music] begun deep in the heart of Kigali rwanda's Capital kagami sat in his War Room his sharp eyes canning the map before him for two years his intelligence operatives had been tracking Hutu extremists hiding in the forest of Eastern Z these were not just refugees they were Killers the remnants of the inter hamway the Hutu militias that had butchered nearly 1 million toses in 100 days during the Rwandan Genocide of 1994 they had fled across the border melting into un protected refugee camps using them as human Shields but kagami seemed to know their game he turned to his closest Ally James karabi a Rwanda military officer who had been handpicked to lead the invasion into Z the first shots rang out in October 1996 kagame's forces Elite disciplined and fured by Vengeance slipped across the border into Eastern Z under the cover of Darkness the world had no idea what was coming officially the attack was led by a new Rebel group The Alliance of democratic forces for the celebration of Congo afdl fronted by a shadowy conges figure known as Lauren deser cabila but this was all a facade the afdl was kagam creation sort of a trojan horse meant to give the Invasion the illusion of an internal conges rebellion in reality this was rwanda's war James kababi led a heavy assault on the refugees camps shattering them within weeks but game's true objective wasn't just eliminating this extremist group remember this man motuo who welcomed these guys that killed his Kinsman yeah he was the main target for decades Mutu had rot Z like a personal Kingdom he lived in Golden Palaces flew in conquered Jets and bled his Nation dry siphoning billions while his people starved the West had once propped him up as a warak against communism but now with the Cold War over he was nothing more than an aging relic of a forgotten era kagami knew that if Mobutu fell Z would be his to shape the match began in the East kagami's forces now openly allied with uganda's Y moeni and Angola's government pushed Westward crushing mutu's ragged Army in battle after battle the zian military bloated with corruption and unpaid for months collapsed almost instantly as kagam forces Advanced they left no room for resistance cities fell without warning bavo GMA kangani all gone within weeks by March of 1997 bot's regime was crumbling his allies fleeing his once loyal generals defecting by the time kagami's War Machine reached the outskirts of Kinshasa there was no sign of Motu the corrupt leader who was receiving treatment for cancer had fled exiled to Morocco where he would die a few months later on May 17th 1997 Lauren Desir cabila walked into Kinshasa as the new ruler of the country zah was dead the Democratic Republic of the Congo was born this war was supposed to be over k forces had mared from the hills of Rwanda to the heart of kinasa in less than a year Mutu was dead the old world was gone a new Africa was being built this was the thought of many in reality though kagame still had unfinished business he had won but the Hutu extremist were not gone not all anyway they had M scattered and rwanda's haunt for them would never truly end but cabil the man kagame had installed as leader was now under pressure from his people to get rid of the foreign powers interfering with internal affairs of the DRC soon enough what had begun as kagami's calculated war of Revenge spiraled into something far greater and far darker Lauren dier cabila was a man who had spent his life fighting in the shadows he had watched Mutu rule for three decades and had dreamed of the day he would take power but now that he was President he didn't feel like it they called him a puppet a man installed by pork gami and Uganda Yi moeni and then in 1998 just one year after taking power kabila made his move he expelled all Rwandan and Uganda military advisers from his government publicly humilating kagami he turned to Angola Zimbabwe and Namibia forging a new Alliance one that had nothing to do with his Old Masters this was practically declaring war on his former allies and with this move the second Congo War Began August 1998 The Invasion came like a storm Rwanda and Uganda Unleashed a two-pronged assault a war machine that had already conquered the Congo once before kali's forces surged Westward seizing GMA and bukavu in a matter of days days Ugandan forces swept in from the north cutting off supply routes a new Rebel Army called the rally for cones democracy rcd was created overnight a carbon copy of the afdl that had toppled Mutu kagami thought it would be easy but the cono had changed kabila was no moreu unlike the weak corrupt detector who had once ruled Z kabila was a warrior he had bled for the land and he had something Motu never had allies who were willing to die for him in a matter of months the second Kongo War had turned to the largest conflict Africa had ever seen on one side stood Rwanda Uganda and Burundi backing their new Rebel Army the rcd and trying to install a more obedient leader in Kinshasa on the other side cabila rallied an African Coalition unlike anything the continent had ever seen Angola was eager to prevent Rwanda and Uganda from taking control of central Africa Zimbabwe where Robert mugabi sent thousands of troops to protect his economic interest in Congo mines Namibia joining the fight to preserve its Regional alliances Sudan fueling the chaos in retaliation for uganda's past support of Sudanese Rebels Chad Libya and even North Korea each pouring in weapons money and mercenaries to keep cabila in power the war became a Battlefield stretching across thousands of miles from the Rolling savanas of katanga to the dense suffocating jungles of iuri kagami had expected another Swift Victory instead he had walked into the African World War kabila knew that the only way to survive was to hold out longer than kagami expected but kabila's enemies were not just on the battlefield on jary 16th 2001 inside his presidential Palace Lauren Desir cabila was gunned down by one of his own guards kabila's son Joseph kabil was hly swor in as president in place of his father in a matter of months he broker a peace deal in 2002 foreign troops withdrew the war was declared over but declaring a war over and actually ending it are two different things as hostilities reduced between Rwanda and DRC it morphed into more of proxy warfare using armed Rebel groups when the war ended the world try to force a new order on the Democratic Republic of the Congo the peace deal said that all Rebel groups had to lay down their arms and be integrated into the drc's national Army for some this was an escape a way to finally stop fighting for others though it seemed like a death sentence among those who resisted were the conges tootsi men who had fought alongside Rwanda during the war men who had seen what happened to their kind when they were left defenseless they were led by a silent Warrior a man who had survived war and Exile Laurent ukunda akunda refused to accept a peace that left his people vulnerable according to him Hutu militias the same groups that had committed the 1994 genocide were still locking in the jungles still organizing and plotting the conges government he claimed was harboring their enemies and so in 2004 inunda and his men broke away from the Army and formed a new Rebellion group The CNP known as National Congress for the defense of the people they were not done fighting now to understand the M23 movement you must first understand what it meant to the toot SE in the Congo for centuries Tosi communities had lived in eastern Congo long before Colonial borders were even drawn but after the Rwandan genoside of 1994 hundreds of thousands of Rwandan Hutu fled into the Congo many of them guilty of slaughtering Tois back home this jungle soon became a graveyard of Revenge Rwandan backed forces had haunted the hoto extremist across the forest in the first and second Congo Wars but they were never fully eradicated by the time 2003 came those same genocidal groups the fdlr that is the Democratic forces for the liberation of Rwanda were still attacking congales to Villages and the conges government reportedly did nothing about this this was why kunda and his men fought back with rwanda's silent backing kunda cndp waged a brutal campaign in eastern Congo clashing with the national Army seizing territory and defending to communities by 2008 Ina's forces captured GMA the capital of North K humilating the conges government as a result but then the game changed Rwanda was now careful about his image and it decided kunda had become more of a liability Rwanda would arrest kunda and in return cono would help fight the remaining hot to rebels in 2009 kunda was betrayed arrested by Rwandan forces and placed under house arrest the cndp was absorbed into the congales army and its Fighters were promised high ranking positions and protection the war was supposed to be over at this point but as we have come to see wars in the Congo Never End not when other special interests are involved the CNP Fighters did as they were told they laid down their arms they joined the National Army and they waited but the congales government it lied the government allegedly failed to fulfill its promises and worst of all it failed to deal with the fdlr the hotu genocidal militia still hiding in the jungles still attacking to civilians in April of 2012 a group of X cndp soldiers mutinied led by a man named Bosco ntaganda a ruthless commander nicknamed The Terminator they declared the new Rebellion the March 23rd movement known as M23 it was named after the March 23rd 2009 pce deal that the congales government had failed to honor the rebels moved with deadly precision and within months they had captured GMA just like kunda had done years before the conges Army collapsed just as it always had but this time the world was watching Rwanda was accused of backing M23 fuing the rebell just as it had done in the past the UN threatened sanctions the pressure continued to mount but this group refused to give in by 2013 kagami pulled his support and M23 was forced to retreat into Uganda and Rwanda for nearly a decade M23 waited in the shadows watching and hoping that the DRC government would uphold it side of the bargain then in 2021 the Same Old Wounds were reopened by 22 M23 had reemerged stronger deadlier and better organized this was no longer just a rebellion he seems more than just a war for Survivor even all evidence now points to Resource extraction and control and this brings us to the recent violence we are witnessing in eastern DRC but what does Rwanda want why does it continue to involve itself in this unending violence ravaging the DRC rwanda's involvement in the Democratic Republic of the Congo conflict is driven by a mix of security concerns economic interests and geopolitical Ambitions since the 1994 Rwandan Genocide remnants of these hotu extremist groups continue to be active in instant DRC Rwanda considers it a direct threat to its National Security the Rwandan government has since Justified its military interventions in eastern Congo as efforts to eliminate this fdlr before they can launch attacks into Rwanda however some have argued that Rwanda is exaggerating the fdlr threat to justify his prolonged intervention question though is why the short answer to that is economic interest Eastern DRC you see is one of the richest mining regions in the world containing gold colan tin diamonds and Cobalt which is essential for High-Tech Industries reports including un investigations accused Rwanda of looting minerals from Congo by backing re groups like M23 you see Rwanda has no significant mineral reserves yet it continues to export large amounts of culton and gold which many believe comes from illegal mining in the DRC by controlling parts of North and South K Rwanda benefits from smuggling and exporting minerals through Kali another reason why Rwanda may want to maintain his presence in the DRC his Regional influence and Military dominance under President Paul ugami Rwanda has positioned itself as a regional military power in central Africa Rwanda wants to establish itself as a key player in African security Affairs influencing not just the DRC but the broad Great Lakes Region and despite public condemnation by the West these powerful governments continue to fraize with kagami when it benefits them and then another reason for kagami's presence in the DRC is the tootsi Hutu Dynamics Rwanda under gami who is a tootsi leader seeks to protect tootsi communities in eastern Congo M23 the main Rebel group Randa backs right now is composed of to Fighters and kakami sees them as an extension of his Regional influence by supporting M23 Rwanda ensures that tooly interest in eastern Congo are protected against Hutu and conges militias hostile towards Rwanda so is Rwanda strategy working well shortterm yes Rwanda has maintained indirect control over parts of the DRC through Rebel groups like M23 and profited from mineral smuggling longterm though it's kind of tricky International pressure is growing against rwanda's involvement South Africa and Angola are sending troops to challenge rwanda's influence the DRC is strengthening its military ties with the US and European allies all this POS a problem for Kigali but what's up with South Africa how do they fit into all of this the escalating conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo is triggering serious tensions between South Africa and Rwanda with the possibility of a direct confrontation between the two countries in January at least 13 South African soldiers were killed in an attack by M23 Rebels who are allegedly backed by Rwanda this incident outr South African leaders as it was one of the deadliest attacks on their forces in years in response to the attack South African defense minister stated that Rwanda was responsible for arming M23 and indirectly for the death of South African troops South Africa has warned that any further attacks on its forces will be considered a declaration of war this marks one of the strongest public condemnation of rwanda's role in The Conflict by another African nation Rwanda president kagami dismissed South Africans accusation suggesting that South Africa lacks credibility in peacekeeping efforts kagami has also implied that South Africa is being manipulated by the DRC government which is using foreign troops to fight a war it cannot win on its own this rhetoric has increased tensions between the two countries with diplomatic relations becoming strained in the process but what is the implication of all of this is Africa going to war if the Au fails to prevent an allout regional conflict it could weaken his credibility as a peacekeeping institution failing to handle this conflict through diplomacy might lead to increased militarization in Africa and if South Africa escalates its involvement in eastern DRC other African countries might follow suit Angola has already deployed troops to Eastern Congo and other sadc nations like Zimbabwe Namibia Tanzania could choose to join this could lead to a military buildup across Africa with more Nations prioritizing armed intervention over diplomacy this is still a developing story and we hope it doesn't get into a full scale regional conflict for now though the people of GMA are the victims of this situation and I can't possibly imagine what they might be going through at this time we continue to urge our leaders to make the right decision and end this violence before it gets out of hand thanks for watching let me know your your thoughts in the comment section below [Music]