Inside Congo's Brutal Fight For Survival

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At least 7,000 dead, more than 7 million displaced. This is the impact of the war in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo since the beginning of 2025. The source of misery for the people of the eastern DRC lies in the vast natural treasures beneath their feet. Diamonds are found there, gold too, but the most coveted riches are the lesser-known ones: coltan, wolfram, cassiterite, and a dizzying array of other metal salts. These minerals, crucial in the production of laptops and smartphones, have for decades turned the province of North Kivu into a honeypot for smugglers. Of the scores of militias fighting over the vast and largely untapped mineral wealth of the DRC, none has weapons to match the group known as M23. With firepower that includes Russian-made anti-tank grenade launches, surface-to-air missiles, armoured vehicles and jammers to repel enemy drones, its fighters can challenge even a national army, as was demonstrated by their latest blitzkrieg on Goma, the largest city in the east of the country. 00:00 Intro 00:44 Origins of War 02:04 Genocide 02:50 M23 Rebels 04:29 Money 07:50 Power Read the best of our journalism: https://www.thetimes.com/ Subscribe to the Times Originals YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=timesoriginals Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/timesandsundaytimes/ Find us on X: https://x.com/thetimes Find us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thetimes?lang=en Find us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thetimes/ #congo #africa #rwanda #documentary