The DR Congo conflict, explained
A plain-language overview of one of the world's deadliest and least-reported conflicts.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is a vast country in central Africa, roughly the size of Western Europe and home to more than 100 million people. For nearly three decades, its eastern provinces have been gripped by violence involving the national army, foreign forces and dozens of armed groups. The conflict has killed millions of people — most from hunger and disease rather than bullets — and forced around seven million from their homes, one of the largest displacement crises in the world.
How it began
The roots of today's fighting reach back to the 1994 genocide in neighbouring Rwanda, in which extremists from the Hutu majority killed some 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus. When a Tutsi-led force took power in Rwanda, around a million Hutus — including some of those responsible for the genocide — fled across the border into what was then Zaire.
That upheaval helped trigger the First Congo War (1996–1997), in which Rwanda and Uganda backed a rebellion that overthrew Zaire's long-time dictator, Mobutu Sese Seko. The country was renamed the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A second, far larger war followed almost immediately.
"Africa's World War"
The Second Congo War (1998–2003) drew in nine African countries and numerous armed groups, earning the grim nickname "Africa's World War." By the time a peace deal established a transitional government, an estimated five million people had died, mostly from disease and starvation caused by the collapse of health care and farming.
But peace on paper did not bring peace to the east. In the provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri — mountainous, mineral-rich and far from the capital, Kinshasa — armed groups never disarmed. They have fought over territory, ethnic grievances, and control of lucrative mines ever since.
The situation today
The most prominent armed group in recent years is the M23, a mainly Tutsi-led rebellion that first seized the city of Goma briefly in 2012 before being pushed back. It re-emerged around 2021 and, according to United Nations experts, has been backed by Rwanda — a charge Rwanda denies. In early 2025 M23 again advanced on and captured Goma, marking one of the sharpest escalations in years.
Other groups add to the violence: the ADF, an Islamist group with Ugandan origins linked to the Islamic State; the FDLR, descended from the Rwandan Hutu forces of the 1990s; and a shifting patchwork of local militias. The Congolese army (FARDC) and a large UN peacekeeping mission (MONUSCO) operate across the region, though the UN force is winding down amid local frustration that it has not brought peace.
Why it matters beyond Congo
Eastern Congo holds some of the world's richest deposits of coltan, cobalt, gold and tin — minerals essential to phones, laptops and electric-car batteries. Control of these resources helps fund the fighting and ties a distant war to the global economy. Understanding the conflict means following three threads at once: the human toll, the regional politics between Congo and Rwanda, and the minerals beneath the ground.
For a step-by-step history, see our timeline. For a guide to the main players, see who's who. And for the resources at the heart of the fighting, read why Congo's minerals matter.