Latest news with #JasonStearns
Bloomberg
10-02-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Stearns on Ceasefire Calls in Eastern DRC War
Eight African leaders have called for an immediate ceasefire in the eastern part of Democratic Republic of Congo. They made the call following a summit in Tanzania on the weekend. Jason Stearns, professor at Simon Fraser University and founder of the Congo Research Group at NYU speaks with Bloomberg TV's Chief Africa correspondent Jennifer Zabasajja on Horizons Middle East and Africa about the latest developments in the conflict, the spillover effect it is causing in the region and the impact on regional commodities. (Source: Bloomberg)
Reuters
31-01-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
M23 rebels face Burundian forces in eastern Congo, heightening war fears
NAIROBI, Jan 31 - As Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo push south towards the city of Bukavu, they are likely to have to fight their way through thousands of troops from Burundi, ramping up the risk of a return to full-blown regional war. Burundi has had soldiers in eastern Congo for years, initially to hunt down Burundian rebels there but, more recently, supporting Kinshasa's army in battles against M23. Any showdown over Bukavu, some 200 km (125 miles) south of Goma, which they seized this week, could exacerbate ethnic tensions and openly pit national armies against each other, analysts told Reuters. Although Rwanda denies accusation from the United Nations and others that it has sent troops in Congo, it says it will do anything necessary to defend itself. It accuses Congo's military of joining forces with Hutu-led militias it says are bent on slaughtering Tutsis in Congo and threatening Rwanda. Burundi, whose ruling party draws heavily from the country's Hutu community, has had troops in Congo since 2021 and tensions have simmered between the two nations since Burundi accused Rwanda of masterminding a failed coup attempt in 2015. "Today there are thousands of Burundian soldiers who are fighting against the M23 on the front lines. Some people say 8,000, others say 10,000," said Jason Stearns, a former U.N. investigator in Congo and currently a professor at Simon Fraser University. M23 is the latest in a series of Tutsi-led rebellions that have emerged in Congo's east since the official end of a string of conflicts between 1996 and 2003 that sucked in most of Congo's neighbouring countries and killed 6 million people, mostly from hunger and disease. Earlier this month, Burundian troops fought a fierce battle in Nungu, in North Kivu, losing dozens of men after they were overrun by M23, four sources told Reuters. "The Burundians have (since) pulled back to South Kivu," Stearns said. "They are among the forces that are trying to block the advance of M23 and the Rwandan army north of Kavumu." Kavumu, a town 35 km north of Bukavu, is home to the city's airport and hosts a number of Congolese drones and other aircraft. A U.N. source and Rwanda's government gave similar figures for Rwandan troops in Congo. A Burundian official said the number of Burundian troops in Congo was "of this order" and said the military had received an increasing number of requests for help from Congo's military in recent years. "Our country has also paid a heavy price, which is why we have asked our two neighbours to sign a ceasefire and negotiate," the official said, asking not to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter. Burundi's foreign minister did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson from the Congolese army did not respond to requests for comment. Like Rwanda, Burundi has sought to heal deep divisions between its Tutsi and Hutu populations. Under the peace deal that ended Burundi's 1993-2005 civil war, which killed 300,000 people, its military put in place an ethnic quota system that shared positions between Hutus and Tutsis equally. Diplomats and experts said there is a risk that Burundian military units fighting in eastern Congo could fracture in fighting against the Tutsi-dominated and Rwandan-backed M-23. Josaphat Musamba, PhD student at Ghent University, said Rwanda believes Burundi is harbouring Hutu rebels near their border. "As soon as Rwanda thinks it is a threat, that becomes a threat to other countries," he said.
Asharq Al-Awsat
31-01-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
M23 Rebels Face Burundian Forces in Eastern Congo, Heightening War Fears
As Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo push south towards the city of Bukavu, they are likely to have to fight their way through thousands of troops from Burundi, ramping up the risk of a return to full-blown regional war. Burundi has had soldiers in eastern Congo for years, initially to hunt down Burundian rebels there but, more recently, supporting Kinshasa's army in battles against M23. Any showdown over Bukavu, some 200 km (125 miles) south of Goma, which they seized this week, could exacerbate ethnic tensions and openly pit national armies against each other, analysts told Reuters. Although Rwanda denies accusation from the United Nations and others that it has sent troops in Congo, it says it will do anything necessary to defend itself. It accuses Congo's military of joining forces with Hutu-led militias it says are bent on slaughtering Tutsis in Congo and threatening Rwanda. Burundi, whose ruling party draws heavily from the country's Hutu community, has had troops in Congo since 2021 and tensions have simmered between the two nations since Burundi accused Rwanda of masterminding a failed coup attempt in 2015. "Today there are thousands of Burundian soldiers who are fighting against the M23 on the front lines. Some people say 8,000, others say 10,000," said Jason Stearns, a former UN investigator in Congo and currently a professor at Simon Fraser University. M23 is the latest in a series of Tutsi-led rebellions that have emerged in Congo's east since the official end of a string of conflicts between 1996 and 2003 that sucked in most of Congo's neighboring countries and killed 6 million people, mostly from hunger and disease. Earlier this month, Burundian troops fought a fierce battle in Nungu, in North Kivu, losing dozens of men after they were overrun by M23, four sources told Reuters. "The Burundians have (since) pulled back to South Kivu," Stearns said. "They are among the forces that are trying to block the advance of M23 and the Rwandan army north of Kavumu." Kavumu, a town 35 km north of Bukavu, is home to the city's airport and hosts a number of Congolese drones and other aircraft. A UN source and Rwanda's government gave similar figures for Rwandan troops in Congo. A Burundian official said the number of Burundian troops in Congo was "of this order" and said the military had received an increasing number of requests for help from Congo's military in recent years. "Our country has also paid a heavy price, which is why we have asked our two neighbors to sign a ceasefire and negotiate," the official said, asking not to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter. Burundi's foreign minister did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson from the Congolese army did not respond to requests for comment. Like Rwanda, Burundi has sought to heal deep divisions between its Tutsi and Hutu populations. Under the peace deal that ended Burundi's 1993-2005 civil war, which killed 300,000 people, its military put in place an ethnic quota system that shared positions between Hutus and Tutsis equally. Diplomats and experts said there is a risk that Burundian military units fighting in eastern Congo could fracture in fighting against the Tutsi-dominated and Rwandan-backed M-23. Josaphat Musamba, PhD student at Ghent University, said Rwanda believes Burundi is harboring Hutu rebels near their border. "As soon as Rwanda thinks it is a threat, that becomes a threat to other countries," he said.
Reuters
28-01-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
M23 rebels in Goma: gains to boost illicit mineral trade through Rwanda, analysts say
Jan 28 (Reuters) - A lightning advance in Congo's mineral-rich eastern borderlands is set to boost the M23 rebellion's illegal mining revenues, with analysts predicting a further surge in illicit trade in minerals including coltan and gold through neighbouring Rwanda. The Rwanda-backed insurgency entered Goma, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo's largest city, this week, marking a major turning point in a conflict with government forces that has raised fears of a spillover into a broader regional war. The rebels, which Rwanda denies supporting, have long been funded at least in part by the illicit mineral trade. Those revenue flows intensified after M23 - the latest in a long line of Tutsi-led rebellions - seized the coltan-rich Rubaya area in April, U.N. experts found. Congo is the world's top producer of tantalum and cobalt, a key component in batteries for electric vehicles and mobile phones, and is also home to significant coltan and gold deposits. "Mineral exports from Rwanda are now over a billion dollars a year," said Jason Stearns, a political scientist at Simon Fraser University and former U.N. investigator. "That's about double what they were two years ago. And we don't know how much, but a fair chunk of that is from the DRC." Rwanda's ambassador-at-large for the Great Lakes region Vincent Karega rejected the idea that M23 was trafficking Congolese minerals. He did not directly address allegations that his government is involved in their illicit trade. "Do you think it's possible to fight and still have time to mine natural resources and refine them?" said Karega, who has been sent to the border with Congo to oversee the crisis. LACK OF TRANSPARENCY Rebels recently captured the mining town Lumbishi in South Kivu province. Numbi, an eastern mining area in South Kivu rich in gold, tourmaline, and tin, tantalum and tungsten - so-called 3T minerals used in computers and mobile phones - is also under threat. "Lumbishi and its gold mines are likely to prove a significant source of revenue for M23, in part because gold is much easier to monetise than coltan and tin," said Gregory Mthembu-Salter, director of Phuzumoya Consulting. He said gold was likely to make its way to Dubai via Rwanda and possibly Kenya. In 2023, UAE declared importing about $885 million in gold from Rwanda, a 75% jump from the previous five-year average, according to a Reuters analysis of U.N. Comtrade data. Rwanda is not a major gold producer. In addition to exerting administrative control over Rubaya, M23 has also created a monopoly for the export of coltan to Rwanda from the nearby Bibatama mine, U.N. experts said in a December report. The mine is one of the world's largest deposits of coltan, used in cellphones and laptops. The group collected at least $800,000 per month in taxes on coltan production and trade, according to the report, with Congolese output mixed in with Rwandan production. Jean Pierre Okenda, a Congo-based rights lawyer specialised in extractive industries, said Rwanda was not a member of any international transparency initiatives, making it hard to track its minerals. "There is a lack of transparency of the mining operations and... a lack of transparency of the geological information," he said.
