"War of Plunder": How Rwanda Has Fueled War in DRC as Western Countries Look Away

[Uncle Joe]

The long-simmering conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo escalated this week when Rwandan-backed M23 rebels captured at least part of the eastern city of Goma. The fighting between the militia and Congolese forces has killed at least 17 with over 370 people injured, and hospitals are overwhelmed. U.N. chief António Guterres has called on Rwandan forces to withdraw immediately from the DRC and end support for M23, as fears grow of a wider regional war, but Maurice Carney, co-founder and executive director of Friends of the Congo, says Rwanda's actions in the DRC will continue unless Western countries stop rewarding President Paul Kagame with development aid, trade deals and military funding. "This lack of accountability, this rampant impunity, lack of justice has enabled this to continue to this day," says Carney, calling Rwanda's involvement in the DRC a "war of plunder" aimed at securing the country's mineral wealth.

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