GENOCIDE  WATCH

The First Congo War began two years after the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda, when Hutu extremists, who fled into the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formed anti-Tutsi militias. Congolese Tutsi militias, along with Rwandan troops, organized against the Hutu militias and invaded the DRC. Violence between Rwanda and the DRC reignited in 1998 with the start of the Second Congo War. For the last two decades, conflict has continued in the country – exacerbated by international demand for rare minerals – between the Tutsi-led March 23 Movement (M23), the Hutu-led Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), and other militias supported by regional powers. M23 resurfaced in 2022 and captured the citiesof Goma, Bukavu, and Uvira in 2025, killing upwards of 8,500 people and displacing hundreds of thousands. It is estimated that six million people have died and seven million have been displaced since 1996.