The crescendo of instability that started in August of this year in the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo is alarming. This is the most recent spike of political and social unrest for the DRC in a period of sporadically waxing and waning conflict that commenced in 1996.

The now-deceased dictator Mobutu Sese Seko, who ruled for 32 years, manipulated control of the country’s rich supply of copper and diamonds in a totalitarian regime that fostered widespread violence and social unrest. The excess and corruption of that regime brought the government to its knees, making way for its overthrow in 1997. What ensued was an entanglement of rebel groups backed by neighboring countries’ armed forces struggling for control of the region’s natural resources.

After years of conflict, the country saw democratic elections in 2006. Unfortunately, however, conflict has again peaked, rooted in the struggle for control over natural resources, and compounded by ethnic conflict stemming from neighboring Rwanda’s genocide. All the while, multinational corporations that purchase these resources as part of their raw materials, including copper, gold, diamonds, and coltan, continue to fund the conflict.

Since August, rebel leader Laurent Nkunda has been threatening the rule of President Joseph Kabila. Nkunda has been charged with war crimes and is alleged to be connected with Paul Kagame, president of Rwanda. Eastern Congo is the base for a number of Hutu and Tutsi rebel groups who spilled into the region after the Rwandan genocide, and who have since been vying for control over territory and access to natural resources. Kagame has been accused of supporting Nkunda’s efforts as part of an alliance between the two men that dates back to their collaboration in Rwanda after that country’s genocide in 1994; Kagame denies the accusations. Meanwhile, there have been accusations of the Congolese government supporting Hutu guerrillas, an instigating factor in Nkunda’s activity in the region.

Hundreds of thousands of newly displaced people, in addition to the 850,000 some odd refugees who were previously displaced, are in dire need of food, water, and medical care. Last Monday, the U.N. made its way to the refugee camps around Rutshuru in eastern DRC, only to find them empty. There were reportedly 50,000 displaced individuals living in these camps, which are now completely abandoned. The camps are now believed to have been looted and burned.  The disappearance of these refugees is upsetting, as they are currently cut off from access to critical humanitarian aid.

Nkunda has now agreed to a ceasefire, but his 6,000 troops are otherwise on the brink of taking the capital of North Kivu in that eastern province, as well as the city of Goma. In reaction to the rebel group’s violence, local militias supporting the Congolese government have rallied and attacked Nkunda’s forces in retaliatory efforts. While this fighting is considered minor, it is the beginning of what could be the birth of new violent factions.

Additionally, last week, Congolese government troops are reported to have attacked civilians and raped women in the town of Kiwanja after they moved there in response to an invasion by Nkunda’s rebels. This incident is highly disturbing, indicating war crimes on both sides of the conflict.

UN Peacekeeping forces need to be stepped up if any attempt to curb the violence and displacement of civilians is to be made. The amount of protection the U.N. can provide is naturally limited by the number of forces at its disposal and the resources allocated to addressing this conflict. While U.N. peacekeepers in the DRC currently total close to 17,000, an increase in support in the eastern provinces is critical.

On Friday, representatives of seven African nations met in Nairobi to discuss ways to mitigate further conflict and avoid a repeated instance of violent involvement by factions in neighboring nations. Nkunda was not invited to the conference. His representatives indicated the meeting was inconsequential, and that the only significant meetings would be those that take place between Nkunda himself and the Congolese government. President Kabila maintains that talks with Nkunda would be unconstitutional.