For decades, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been subject to insecurity and violence stemming from a complex mix of local and foreign armed groups.

 

The grim situation has led to the death of millions, and a crisis of 6.2 million internally displaced people. More than 1.3 million others have become refugees in neighboring countries.

 

Amid all the chaos, several foreign countries and international bodies have sent their troops to DRC to assist in ending hostilities. To date, the country has multiple deployments under the UN, multilateral, and bilateral arrangements and yet it is far from being secure and peaceful.

 

The first foreign troops to set foot in DRC were the UN’s, in July 1960, in response to requests by Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba. The result was the United Nations Operation in the Congo (ONUC). Comprising 8,000 troops, they failed to quell the then South Kasai and Katanga revolts. Lumumba was killed under their watch, which led to demonstrations in New York where many believed that he should have been better protected by the UN. The troops withdrew in May 1964.

 

In early 1964, a new crisis broke out; a new rebellion called ‘Simba’ broke out. The then Prime Minister, Moise Tshombe, employed foreign mercenaries called ‘5 commando’ to fight the rebels, which led to deaths of thousands civilians. It was active from 1964 to 1967.

 

Under President Mobutu Sese Seko, Zaire, now DRC, was stable between 1968-1977 and 1979-1990, a relative calm that was short lived. After the fall of Mobutu and the assassination of Laurent Desire Kabila, the country plunged in yet another security crisis.

 

This led to the deployment of other UN troops – the Mission de l'Organisation des Nations Unies en République Démocratique du Congo (MONUC) – in 2000.

 

In 2010, the mission was renamed the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC (MONUSCO). It is still active today. But just like all the previous foreign troops, MONUSCO has failed to bring peace in DRC despite having around 12,400 troops and an annual budget of more than $1 billion. The blue helmets have been accused of watching idly as civilians are killed by terrorist groups such as the genocidal FDLR militia from Rwanda, the ADF from Uganda, and other local armed groups.

 

Fast forward to 2013, in response to the M23 rebels’ initial uprising, the Force Intervention Brigade (FIB), which operated under the UN was introduced to fight the rebels. At the time, this led to the defeat of the M23, where the rebels fled to Rwanda and Uganda, which seemed like a ‘win’ to the DRC government. However, the rebellion remained dormant until it resumed fighting in late 2021. This proved to be one example of the downfall of using military responses in the region, if not adequately linked to a political process.

 

The FIB, with troops from Malawi, Tanzania and South Africa, did not sort out the root causes of the M23 rebellion nor did they address their grievances. Their task was, simply, to fight the rebels.

 

Following the resurgence of the M23, as always, Kinshasa tried to find a solution in foreign armed forces to solve its internal crisis.

 

In October 2022, reports emerged pinning the Congolese army, FARDC, on collaboration with FDLR - a group formed by remnants of the perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, and other militia groups in DRC to fight M23.

 

Related: DRC army supplying arms to FDLR: HRW Report

 

After realizing that the evil coalition was no match for M23, Kinshasa hired more than 850 mercenaries from Eastern Europe to join the fight. Similar to those in the 1960s, the mercenaries’ only job is to fight the M23 rebels.

 

Related: DRC: Mercenaries will bury this lawless country

 

As expected these foreign troops did not solve the crisis. President Felix Tshisekedi saw it fit to add more to help quell the violence in the east part of his country.

 

On the request of Tshisekedi, in November 2022, the East Africa Community (EAC) deployed a regional force in DRC. The troops came from Kenya, Burundi, Uganda, and South Sudan. Their mandate was to help restore peace and stability in eastern DRC. However, Tshisekedi was not happy with their ‘inaction towards M23’, and is planning to kick them out in June 2023, to make way for yet other foreign troop deployment from the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC).

 

Related: SADC troops won’t solve eastern DRC crisis. Here’s why

 

The deployment of SADC troops was approved on May 8. The announcement preceded a confirmation that Angolan troops are expected in DRC as well.

 

The deployment of all these foreign troops since the 1960s has raised more questions than answers. One might think that by now, Kinshasa would have learned the most important lesson, which is; none of these foreign troops will solve their issues.

 

 

Only Congolese themselves can save their country, if they sober up, stop the denial, and address their issues.

 

As long as the DRC government is still in denial about the root causes of their own insecurity problems – their own bad governance, a dysfunctional army, lack of laws and order, and deliberately harboring negative armed groups – the country will always be in shambles.

 

And no amount of external help will ever be enough.