{"id":2837,"date":"2026-04-23T10:54:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T10:54:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/?p=2837"},"modified":"2026-04-23T13:41:37","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T13:41:37","slug":"rescue-of-200-civilians-in-congo-spotlights-drawn-out-conflict-in-great-lakes-region","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/23\/rescue-of-200-civilians-in-congo-spotlights-drawn-out-conflict-in-great-lakes-region\/","title":{"rendered":"Rescue of 200 civilians in Congo spotlights drawn-out conflict in Great Lakes region"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The rescue of 200 civilians rescued in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) this week highlights a deadly, decades-long conflict in East-Central Africa known as the African Great Lakes region.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The civilians, including children, were freed from captivity after Ugandan and Congolese forces raided camps run by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an IS-linked armed group. Survivors described starvation, forced labour, and abuse, with many held for months. The ADF remains one of the region\u2019s most feared militias, responsible for killings, kidnappings, and mass displacement.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The conflict in the Great Lakes region has caused major displacement. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The clash in which 14 South African SANDF peacekeepers died last year involved another rebel group known as the M23.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many of those rescued were in fragile condition, suffering from illness, exhaustion, and trauma after prolonged captivity. Accounts from survivors point to systematic abuse, with civilians forced into labour and punished for disobedience. Children were among the victims, highlighting the extent to which armed groups continue to target the most vulnerable in this conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The crisis in Central Africa’s Great Lakes region is not new; it is a war that has simply changed shape over time. Centred on the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), this conflict has quietly become one of the deadliest and most neglected humanitarian disasters in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its roots trace back to the Rwandan Genocide, when nearly a million were killed, and millions fled across borders, many into eastern Congo. What followed wasn’t just spillover violence, but the beginning of a regional war. Rwanda, alongside other African states, entered Congo, first to pursue armed groups, but soon became entangled in a much larger fight over power, influence, and survival. By the early 2000s, millions were dead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the heart of today’s violence is the resurgence of the March 23 Movement (M23), a rebel group widely accused of being backed by Rwanda. In early 2025, M23 fighters captured Goma, a strategic city near the Rwandan border, displacing thousands and killing hundreds. Although a ceasefire was later declared, fighting continues across eastern Congo, with clashes involving Congolese forces, militias, and foreign-backed groups. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, this war is not just about old ethnic divisions. It\u2019s also about what lies beneath the soil. Eastern Congo is rich in minerals like cobalt and copper, essential for the global tech economy. That wealth has turned the region into a battleground, with armed groups and foreign interests fighting for control while ordinary people pay the price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, more than seven million people are displaced. Hunger is widespread. Aid is stretched thin. And despite years of peacekeeping and regional military support, stability remains out of reach. Troops from the Southern African Development Community (SADC), including South African soldiers, were deployed to support efforts on the ground. The violence has also come at a cost for regional forces. For South Africa, the return of its soldiers marks the end of a difficult mission, but for Congolese civilians, the uncertainty only deepens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite ongoing diplomacy, a US-brokered peace agreement between Paul Kagame and F\u00e9lix Tshisekedi was signed but never fully implemented, with violence continuing largely unchanged on the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The rescue of 200 civilians rescued in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) this week highlights a deadly, decades-long conflict in East-Central Africa known as the African Great Lakes region. The civilians, including children, were freed from captivity after Ugandan and Congolese forces raided camps run by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an IS-linked […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":2851,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,11,205,13],"tags":[132,407,165,410,409,282],"class_list":{"0":"post-2837","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-africa","8":"category-conflict-zones","9":"category-secondary-story","10":"category-south-africa","11":"tag-africa","12":"tag-drc","13":"tag-genocide","14":"tag-rwanda","15":"tag-sadc","16":"tag-southafrica"},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2837"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2837\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2885,"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2837\/revisions\/2885"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1nationmedia.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}