Kenyan Soldier Killed by a Mortar Bomb as Conflict in the DRC Rages On

A family fleeing the conflict in Masisi, North Kivu Province. Photo: Flickr/Julien Harneis

On Oct. 24, a Kenyan soldier was killed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo during fighting between the pro-government East African Community Regional Force (EACRF) and the rebel group, the March 23 Movement (M23).

The recent clash between the EACRF and M23 took place in the Kibumba area in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The DRC army said that the soldier was killed by a stray mortar bomb fired from the M23. In return, the M23 accused the DRC army of violating the most recent agreed-upon ceasefire. 

Over the last two years, multiple ceasefires between rebel forces and the DR Congo government have been attempted. One was established in November of last year in Luanda, Angola and signed by leaders from the DRC, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, and Angola. The Luanda ceasefire included conditions that the M23 were to leave the areas they occupied in the DRC in an attempt to deescalate tensions between them and the DRC armed forces. 

The agreement would be moderated by the EACRF if necessary. After the November ceasefire was violated by M23, another was created in March earlier this year. Again, the ceasefire was not fully adhered to and another shaky ceasefire was drawn up in April. After the April ceasefire, the M23 rebel group claimed that they moved out of the areas they overtook, while residents reported that some remained, staged in civilian clothing. The mortar attack between the conflicting groups is a recent culmination of the unaffected tensions between them. 

The eastern region of the DR Congo is a hotbed for the ongoing conflict between governmental forces and the M23 rebels, with its shared border with Rwanda. M23 is the latest rebel movement in a succession of movements since the end of the Rwandan genocide in the 1990s. After the genocide in Rwanda, Hutu extremists took refuge in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to escape punishment by the new Tutsi government. A rebel group called the National Congress for the Defense of the People formed to route out Hutu extremists that were responsible for crimes committed during the genocide, which transformed over time to become the M23 group today. 

Although the rebel movements that came as a result of the Rwandan genocide claimed to be in defense against Hutu extremist groups, they are continuously accused of crimes against civilians, like the killing of 32 people last February. 

Since the resurgence of the M23 in 2022, the increase in human rights violations has been a cause for concern. According to UNICEF, there was a 41 percent increase in the number of violations against children in the first half of 2023 compared to 2022 as well as a 45 percent increase in the recruitment and use of children in armed groups, some as young as 5, in the first six months of 2023. Violence against women has also been on the rise. According to UNHCR, over 10,000 people accessed gender-based violence services in North Kivu, 66 percent of those cases were rape, many reported to be perpetrated by armed men. They assume the number of women suffering from these crimes is much higher than reported because of many being unable or unwilling to seek out these services. 

The unstable situation in the DR Congo has also allowed multiple other armed militias, that claim to be in the defense of ethnic groups, to form, which have committed egregious acts during the conflict. This past June, the Cooperative for the Development of the Congo, who claim to protect the Lendu community from the Hema and DRC army, targeted and killed more than 45 people in a refugee camp in the Ituri province.

UNHCR handing over non-food items to internally displaced persons in Pweto, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Photo: MONUSCO/ Nelly Kabena.

As the conflict continues, the wellbeing of the citizens in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is a concern as well as the future state of the country. In a recent development the President of the DRC, Felix Tshisekedi, has asked the United Nations peacekeeping mission to leave the country as well as refused to extend the mandate with the East African Community Regional Force. Although these groups have been unable to end the conflict many wonder what will happen without their influence in the country.