Articles on Belgian Congo

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Congolese boys push a load in Kiwanja town close to the fighting between army troops and M23 rebels in 2013. Such loads were subject to tax when M23-controlled the town. Junior D. Kannah/AFP via Getty Images

Rwandan‑backed M23 rebel group seeks local power in DRC, not just control over mining operations

M23 strategies allow the rebel group to control local governance and to generate revenues from the local economy, including rents from North Kivu’s mineral wealth.
Internally displaced persons gather for government briefing in South Kivu, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the scene of violent clashes between rival communities since 2019. Photo by ALEXIS HUGUET/AFP via Getty Images

How DRC’s colonial legacy forged a nexus between ethnicity, territory and conflict

Because ethnic territories are a major source of political friction and persecution in the world, it’s important to investigate how they are created and used in conflicts.
The Enola Gay, a Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber, which dropped the first atomic bomb in history. The bomb was made from Congolese ore. Reuters

How a rich uranium mine thrust the Congo into the centre of the Cold War

The Soviet Union tested its own atomic bomb in 1949, to the profound shock of the US. This heated up the Cold War dramatically and thrust the Congo to the centre of American geopolitical strategy

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