Source
The situation in the DRC right now is a conflict that involves a large part of Africa surrounding the Democratic Republic. This most recent civil war has been going on for five years and it is the government forces of the DRC supported by Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe, against rebels backed by Uganda and Rwanda. There was a peace deal and a new transitional government although people in the eastern part of the country still fear rape, death, and displacement by the army and militias. The war has resulted in an estimated six million lives either from the conflicts themselves or malnutrition. The war is economic as well as political. All of the sides of the conflict are taking advantage of the anarchist government to gather as many natural resources as possible. A rebel leader named General Laurent Nkunda had signed a peace deal with the government but clashes broke out in August of 2008. Nkunda advanced in the provincial capital of Goma causing civilians and troops to flee while the UN tried to hold the line with the help of the remaining government forces. In 2009, the Congolese government invited Rwandan troops to help fight the Rwandan rebel Hutu militias in the eastern part of the DRC although Rwanda arrested their main rival, Gen. Nkunda. In 2013, the UN secured an agreement to end the rebellion in the east and the group's founder Bosco Ntaganda surrendered to face war-crimes charges previously talked about in a different post.
This whole civil war obviously would cause the civilians, the main victims, to protest. The Congolese government is treating the population of the Congo very unfairly. Many activists have been killed and captured just for voicing their opinion in a "democratic republic". With many citizens displaced, they are not happy with the current situation with the rebels and government in a civil war and anytime they try to protest they are either imprisoned or shot. This creates a huge amount of unrest causing even more people to want to protest.
No comments:
Post a Comment