The 2006 election in the Democratic Republic of Congo was supposed to usher in a new period of peace and stability for the beleaguered, exhausted Congolese people. Instead, it made one of the country's most intractable problems worse.
DRC: Rwanda's walk through Congo
Published February 25, 2009
Michael Kavanagh, for the Pulitzer Center
Michael traveled to the DRC on a grant from the Pulitzer Center
Women and children watch Rwandan soldiers leave the former FDLR stronghold of Nyabiando.
The Rwandans have left the Congo; we just followed hundreds (thousands?) of them across the border. It took them a little over four weeks to walk 100 or so muddy kilometers to Walikale territory and back. At the border, a few people cheered and said the FDLR problem was over. In the towns I just returned from where the FDLR used to live, people realize their problems are just beginning. They've been on the receiving end of revenge attacks by FDLR coming down from their hiding places in the forest. They've had their possessions looted by the Congolese soldiers who supposedly came to protect them.
Contributor Michael J. Kavanagh reported for Worldfocus last year on the crisis in eastern Congo. He's currently based in the DR Congo's capital, Kinshasa.
Journalist Michael J. Kavanagh reported on the Crisis in Congo for Worldfocus last year.
Gateways
Grantee
Michael J. Kavanagh is a journalist based in Kinshasa and New York who reports on conflict and post-conflict development issues around the world, with a special focus on Africa. His radio and...
