East African Community to hold DRC meeting

The East African Community will hold an emergency meeting today to address the recent escalation of violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The violence is concentrated in the North Kivu province, which borders Rwanda. Goma, the provincial capital, was seized on Monday by a Rwandan-backed militia group, M23. Rwanda Defense Force troops were also involved in the capture of the city. Rwanda and M23 seek to control eastern DR Congo primarily because of its mineral wealth and because the region is home to militia groups with ties to the groups that perpetrated the Rwandan Genocide. Rwanda says these groups pose a genocidal threat to the country.

Already fragile relations between DR Congo and Rwanda deteriorated further due to the recent escalation, with DR Congo breaking ties with Rwanda. The EAC will meet today to address the issue, but it has not been confirmed that the president of either state will attend. Without both leaders, any immediate relief to the crisis is unlikely. If both leaders do attend, the meeting may lead to a temporary ceasefire or withdrawal by M23 and Rwandan troops, as was the case when M23 captured Goma in 2012. In the long term, there is still no clear path to peace in the region, where violence has persisted since 1994.