"No new conflict"

Congo crisis: the long shadow of genocide

Hundreds of thousands of people have already fled the recent fighting.

(Bild: APA/AFP/Jospin Mwisha)

At first glance, the conflict in eastern Congo looks like a battle for control of valuable resources between various rebel groups. However, its origins go back more than 30 years - to the Hutu genocide against the Tutsi in neighboring Rwanda. 

The city of Goma has fallen. Fighters from the rebel militia M23 control large parts of the eastern Congolese provincial capital, including the airport. Government soldiers have been disarmed and the fighting has died down. But the calm is deceptive. Shots and explosions can still be heard along the border with Rwanda. The fear of a new escalation is growing - and with it the question of how it could have come this far.