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Fighting between the DRC’s armed forces and the M23 rebel group has reached new levels of intensity in the eastern part of the country, with claims and counter-claims about which one controls the region’s biggest city, Goma. Judith Verweijen and Michel Thill argue that the government in Kinshasa has made some poor strategic decisions about the country’s armed forces, among them steps taken three years ago to create a reserve army out of more than 100 armed
groups. They set out why it was always doomed to fail.
You can also find a number of articles from our archives about the conflict, including a profile of the M23 rebel group, Rwanda’s role in the war, the failure of military interventions and what South Africa’s military force in DRC is up
against.
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Judith Verweijen, Utrecht University; Michel Thill, University of Basel
Merely absorbing armed groups into a reserve force does little to address the underlying causes of the eastern DRC crisis.
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From the archive
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Delphin R. Ntanyoma, University of Leeds
Besides good equipment, M23 is fighting a well-organised conventional war in which it has intimidated the national army.
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Kerstin Bree Carlson, Roskilde University
For the vulnerable millions in eastern DRC, it is not enough that international courts exist.
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Felix Mukwiza Ndahinda, University of Rwanda
A comprehensive strategy does not seem to be an immediate priority for Congolese authorities with an eye on elections.
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Thomas Mandrup, Stellenbosch University
The new intervention force must be sizeable, and have proper air cover as well as transport and air elements. None are guaranteed.
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Oyeniyi Abe, University of Cape Town; Victor Azubike, University of Huddersfield
The transition to renewable energy in Africa should have energy for everyone as its goal or the 600 million African people who lack electricity may remain without.
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Maya Goldman, University of Cape Town; Brynde Kreft, University of Oxford; Kate Orkin, University of Oxford; Ntuthuko Hlela, Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab
South Africa’s social relief grant has enabled recipients to search for work or start small businesses.
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From our international editions
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Ernesto Castañeda, American University; Daniel Jenks, University of Pennsylvania
Immigration scholars break down some of the immigration terms that are likely to become common during the Trump administration’s first months.
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Innisfree McKinnon, University of Wisconsin-Stout
How do place names get made and then changed? There’s a process. But it involves people as well as bureaucracy, so it’s not simple or quick, as President Trump is about to find out.
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Samuel Agbamu, University of Reading
When Elon Musk performed a gesture that many saw as a fascist gesture, his supporters claimed it was a Roman salute. So what’s the difference?
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Lorne J. Hofseth, University of South Carolina
Over 35 years after the first study linking Red 3 to thyroid cancer in rats was published, the US is beginning to wean it out of foods and drugs.
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