Nkunda’s Arrest: Initial Success for DRC-Rwanda Alliance

Nkunda’s Arrest: Initial Success for  DRC-Rwanda Alliance

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa - It is uncertain what effect last week's arrest of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) rebel leader Laurent Nkunda will have on peace prospects in Africa's third largest country, where more than 5 million people have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced since internal fighting began a decade ago.

While some people have hailed it as the biggest step yet toward ending one of Africa's worst civil wars ever, others suggest that any celebration must wait until the new-found alliance between Rwanda and Congo proves durable.

Nkunda, a 41-year-old former DRC army general who has led a Tutsi rebellion since 2004, was arrested last Thursday as he fled his Bunagana stronghold, days after the launch of an unprecedented joint military operation by Rwandan and Congolese government forces against Congolese-based Hutu militiamen.

Keep reading for free!

Get instant access to the rest of this article by submitting your email address below. You'll also get access to three articles of your choice each month and our free newsletter:

Or, Subscribe now to get full access.

Already a subscriber? Log in here .

What you’ll get with an All-Access subscription to World Politics Review:

A WPR subscription is like no other resource — it’s like having a personal curator and expert analyst of global affairs news. Subscribe now, and you’ll get:

  • Immediate and instant access to the full searchable library of tens of thousands of articles.
  • Daily articles with original analysis, written by leading topic experts, delivered to you every weekday.
  • Regular in-depth articles with deep dives into important issues and countries.
  • The Daily Review email, with our take on the day’s most important news, the latest WPR analysis, what’s on our radar, and more.
  • The Weekly Review email, with quick summaries of the week’s most important coverage, and what’s to come.
  • Completely ad-free reading.

And all of this is available to you when you subscribe today.

More World Politics Review