How DRC’s borders and mineral-rich regions keep the country in conflict

The eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo has been at war for the past 30 years, and it’s about to get worse.

Residents walk along a road in Bombo Lumene Natural Reserve in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The DRC has 60 per cent of the world’s coltan, a mineral essential for electronic devices. Photograph courtesy of Unsplash

Opinion

BY GWYNNE DYER

March 25, 2025

LONDON, U.K.—“Joseph Kabila boycotted the election and is preparing an insurrection because he is the AFC [Alliance Fleuve Congo],” said President Félix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo last October, in reference to the Congo River Alliance. And lo! It i...

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