Name? Felix Tshisekedi
Westphalian identity? Congolese
Age? 59
Why is he in the news? Border clashes between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the M23 rebel group have erupted on the DRC’s eastern border. Coming after a weekend of shelling, the M23 rebels took over the border town of Bunagana, Congolese President Tshisekedi accused Rwanda of taking over. This accusation is not out of the ordinary as Tshisekedi has credited Rwandan President Paul Kagame for his ties with the M23 and sparking instability on the border.
Why do we care? The conflict represents yet another fallout in Africa and especially in the East. Despite its small size, Bunagana is an important transit point for much of the DRC’s international commerce. The M23 taking over the town puts additional pressure on Tshisekedi to ramp up the efforts to recapture the town or (unlikely) meeting the M23 at the negotiation table .
Why should you care? The eruption of this conflict has forced a total of 25,000 civilians to flee into neighbouring Uganda. With reports of month-long cross-border shellings taking place, the escalation will take and displace more lives. Tshisekedi is unwilling to start dialogue with the rebel group and the conflict will persist, which is why you should care 5/10.
Who else cares? President Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya cares about this situation as the conflict means an almost certain uptick of refugees leaving the DRC. Kenyatta started the ‘Nairobi initiative’, hoping to call for an agreement between the DRC and Rwanda, which shows the vested interest the rest of the Great Lakes region has in ending this conflict. Any further comments? The last time we heard about Tshisekedi, he was starting a joint military operation with Ugandan President Yoveri Museveni against the Allied Democratic Forces. Though this was also against a domestic rebel group, the possibility of a joint military operation against the M23 is nearly impossible due to the M23’s ties with Rwanda.
