Columbia International Affairs Online: Working Papers

CIAO DATE: 01/2015

Congo: Ending the Status Quo

December 2014

International Crisis Group

Abstract

The M23 defeat by the UN’s Intervention Brigade (FIB) in November 2013 raised hopes that it would mark the beginning of the end for armed groups in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). But the M23’s demobilisation remains unfinished and the civilian population continues to be terrorised by armed groups, as recent October attacks, which left 200 people dead in the Beni area, have shown. As the 2 January 2015 deadline for the demobilisation of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) nears, distrust and discord are high among the regional stakeholders, including those who are supposed to contribute to a solution under a UN mandate. The neutralisation of the armed groups is now the main stumbling block in the way of implementing the PSCF. In its latest briefing, Congo: Ending the Status Quo, the International Crisis Group examines the reasons behind the present stalemate and outlines possibilities to end it.