Event: The Democratic Republic of Congo

Mineral-rich eastern Congo has been battered by decades of conflict as government forces and allied militias fight more than 100 armed groups, the most potent of them the Rwandan-backed M23. File. | Photo Credit: AP Congo said Friday (June 26, 2026) it has filed a case against Rwanda at the International Court of Justice, accusing its neighbour of bearing legal responsibility for more than three decades of violence that has devastated eastern Congo.Congo accused Rwanda of breaching international conventions on genocide, racial discrimination, discrimination against women and torture. It said civilians in the east have suffered massacres, extrajudicial killings, torture, sexual violence, forced displacement and ethnic and gender-based discrimination since the 1990s.Mineral-rich eastern Congo has been battered by decades of conflict as government forces and allied militias fight more than 100 armed groups, the most potent of them the Rwandan-backed M23. Its fighters made major advances early last year, seizing Goma and other key cities as they quickly expanded their presence.The UN has called the conflict in eastern Congo “one of the most protracted, complex, serious humanitarian crises on Earth.” The violence goes back to the 1994 Rwandan genocide, when Hutu fighters responsible for the killings fled across the border into eastern Congo. Rwanda has repeatedly sent troops or backed armed groups there in the years since, saying it was acting to neutralise Hutu fighters and protect its security.Congo and the U.S. government have accused Rwanda of using the rebels as a pretext to gain access to the region's mineral wealth.Congo named a string of Rwandan-backed rebel groups it blames for the violence over the years, including M23.It asked the ICJ to declare Rwanda internationally responsible for the conflict, order it to halt its activities in Congo, demand guarantees they won't be repeated, and award reparations to Congo and civilian…

The Democratic Republic of Congo has filed a case against Rwanda at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing its neighbour of breaching multiple international treaties.In a statement, DR Congo said Rwanda had dispatched forces and backed armed groups to carry out unlawful military operations on its territory following the 1994 Rwandan genocide.On Friday, Congolese Justice Minister Guillaume Andali said his country is seeking accountability for alleged breaches of conventions covering genocide prevention, racial discrimination, women's rights and torture.Rwanda has not yet responded to DR Congo's filing, but it has long-dismissed evidence that it backs rebel groups in the country.UN experts and Western governments are among various parties who say Rwanda is supporting the M23, a major armed group in DR Congo's east.The country's application asks the ICJ, based in the Netherlands, to order Rwanda to cease its alleged crimes and award reparations to the Congolese authorities and its victims.The ICJ will now examine the claims.This is not the first time DR Congo has filed a case against Rwanda at the ICJ.An initial case was dropped by the Congolese authorities in 2001. In 2006 the ICJ dismissed a second case, saying it could not proceed because Rwanda had not recognised its jurisdiction.The decades-long conflict in DR Congo is rooted in the 1994 Rwandan genocide.About 800,000 people – mostly from the Tutsi community - were slaughtered by ethnic Hutu extremists.Fearing reprisals, an estimated one million Hutus then fled across the border to what is now DR Congo. This stoked ethnic tensions as a marginalised Tutsi group in the east – the Banyamulenge – felt increasingly under threat.Rwanda's army twice invaded DR Congo, saying it was going after some of those responsible for the genocide, and worked with members of the Banyamulenge and other armed groups.One of the Hutu groups, the Democratic…

The US has sanctioned a major gold refinery in Rwanda and two of its executives, accusing them of smuggling minerals from rebel-controlled areas of neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.Washington alleged what it described as a "network" was collaborating with the M23 rebel group, which commands tracts of DR Congo that are home to vast reserves of gold and coltan, a metallic ore key to making electronics.Despite overwhelming evidence from the likes of UN experts, Rwanda has long denied supporting the M23.The government there has not responded to the US' recent sanctions, but have previously described similar measures against Rwanda as unfair and one-sided.The sanctions, announced on Thursday, target the Gasabo Gold Refinery, its chairman Jean Malic Kalima and its general manager Bosco Kayobotsi.In a statement, the US alleged at least 60kg of gold, valued at millions of US dollars, were smuggled from eastern DR Congo to Gasabo Gold in early 2026.The statement accuses Rwandan government officials and soldiers of overseeing the system.Last year, Gasabo Gold Refinery was sanctioned by the European Union for "exploiting the armed conflict" in DR Congo.Three separate mining companies controlled by Kalima - Bugambira Mines, Wolfram Mining and Processing and Rwinkwavu Mining Corporation - were also sanctioned by the US on Thursday.The sanctioned parties have not responded to the BBC's requests for comment.Any assets they have under US jurisdiction will be frozen. The sanctions also bar American citizens and companies from dealing with the designated parties."The United States will not allow rogue groups to profit from the illicit mineral trade and destabilise the region," Treasury secretary Scott Bessent said. "The Democratic Republic of the Congo's mineral wealth rightfully belongs to the Congolese people."The move builds on a peace deal, spearheaded by the US and signed last December by the presidents of Rwanda and DR Congo. The…