Veteran journalist, Marc Hoogsteyns, on daily life in M23 territory and how FDLR is recruiting new soldiers in Rwanda today

The never-ending crisis in Eastern DRC is often in the news. We watch the terrifying scenes of war and carnage on our tv screens, then read stories of rape and killing in our newspapers. And on social media, we see images of the EACs heads of state meeting in different East African capitals to discuss the insecurity that has bedeviled Eastern Congo for close to 30 years.  If you only listen to what the DRC the UN, the NGOs and the human rights groups are saying, you’ll think that the M23 is the cause of every conflict in the region and that they have no legitimate grievances.   Why? Because rarely do we get to hear from someone who has visited their territory and spoken to them. All the information we have about them is courtesy of Congolese and international media as well as NGO reports.  This week, we host Marc Hoogsteyns, a veteran journalist who just got back from M23 Controlled territory.Marc is a Belgian freelance journalist who has been living and working in Africa for 25 years. He has made reports for BBC, ABC-Australia, TV5 and Reuters. He also manages Kivu Press Agency Join our Patreon to enjoy ad-free viewing https://www.patreon.com/cw/TheLongFormPod or support us via our MTN Mobile Money Code 95462 or directly to our phone number: +250795462739Visit Sanny Ntayombya's Official Website: https://sannyntayombya.comProduced by LF Media