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Africa's
First World War 1.
Mai-Mai militia of eastern Kivu region
of Congo 2.
Rwandan Hutu interahamwe (remnants of
the old Rwandan Hutu army) 3.
Burundi's Hutu Forces pour la d'fense
de la democratie (FDD) -- Rebels
against the Burundi
government 1.
The Congolese Liberation
Movement--supported by
Uganda 2.
Rassemblement congolais pour la
democratie (RCD)--supported by
Rwanda BEGAN:
August 1, 1998 ENDED:
December 17, 2002 CONCURRENT:
(Related conflicts occurring at the
same time) SUCCESSOR:
(Related conflicts that occur
later) 2. The
dependence of the Congo government under
the second President Kabila, on foreign
forces to keep it in power Estimates
place the number of dead (the vast
majority civilian) at somewhere betweeen
one million and two and a half million
dead in Congo. Most of the dead were the
result of famine and disease brought on by
the war. CIA
Factbook on Country or
conflict
Click on the country name at this
site. One
World Special Reports:
Congo CASUALTIES
OF WAR: Civilians, Rule of Law, and
Democratic Freedoms Eastern
Congo Ravaged: Killing Civilians and
Silencing Protest Rwanda
to pull troops out of DR
Congo Despite
a cease-fire, Congo war
escalating--Article
from the Philadelphia Inquirer Return
to the killing fields?: A border war is
now the most serious threat to
peace...--
Article in the Daily Mail &
Guardian. Rebels
seize east Congo army camp, thousands
flee
Lee, R.
"The Congo War (1998-Present)" http://www.historyguy.com/congo_war.htm "The
History Guy" is a Registered Trademark. Contact
the webmaster Outside
Links on the Wars in the
Cong CIA
Factbook on Country or
conflict
Click on the country name at this
site. One
World Special Reports:
Congo CASUALTIES
OF WAR: Civilians, Rule of Law, and
Democratic Freedoms Eastern
Congo Ravaged: Killing Civilians and
Silencing Protest Rwanda
to pull troops out of DR
Congo Despite
a cease-fire, Congo war
escalating--Article
from the Philadelphia Inquirer Return
to the killing fields?: A border war is
now the most serious threat to
peace...--
Article in the Daily Mail &
Guardian. Site
Map--revision
in progress
A chronicle
of newer and more recent
conflicts and wars from around
the globe
A listing
of wars and war pages on the
History Guy site
Copyright
© 1998-2010 Roger A. Lee and History Guy
Media; Last Modified: 05.02.10
The
Congo War
(1998-2002)
Congo
Government (President Laurent Kabila),
Angola, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Chad.
Also aiding Kabila are several militias
and foreign rebel groups:
Congolese
rebels* and the nations of Rwanda,
Uganda and Burundi
*Rebel
groups include:
PREDECESSOR:
(Related conflicts that occurred
before)
Kabila's
Rebellion--also known as the First
Congo War (1997)
Rwanda
Civil War, Burundi Civil War,
Angolan Civil War, Rwanda-Uganda
Conflict (1999-2000)
The roots of this war go back to the 1994 civil war and genocide of the Tutsi ethnic group in Rwanda by the Hutu ethnic group.
Over a half million Tutsi and moderate Hutus were slaughtered by the Hutu-run government and army. This war ended with the
Tutsi in control of Rwanda, but hundreds of thousands of Hutu refugees and most surviving Hutu soldiers had fled to neighboring
Congo, where new dictator Laurent Kabila allowed them to conduct cross-border raids into Rwanda. At the same time, a lot of bad
feelings developed in the Congo against the Tutsi of both Rwanda and those native to eastern Congo. This is largely due to the role
of the Rwandan (Tutsi) army in helping Kabila win his own rebellion against the government of former dictator Mobuto Sese Seko
in 1997.
Many Congolese saw the Tutsi as having too much control over their country and Kabila encouraged these feelings as a way to
cement his own power. As a result of all this, the Tutsi of Rwanda encouraged the Tutsi and other anti-Kabila forces to rebel in
1998, with the Rwandan army actively aiding them in the war. Rwanda saw this as one way to eliminate the Hutu rebel problem in the
border areas. Forces from Burundi and Uganda, at the time two strong allies of Rwanda also took part. Burundi has a similar
problem between Tutsi and Hutus and Uganda wished to strike at its own rebels who were hiding in the Congo's border areas.
Kabila called in aid from Angola, (who had also helped him take power in 1997), as well as from Zimbabwe and Namibia. Angola
saw this as a chance to enter into southern Congo to attack its own UNITA rebels, with whom the Angolan government had been at
war since 1975 (The Angolan War also ended in 2002.). Namibia is an ally of the Angolan government and also has had problems with the UNITA rebels in the border area
they share with Angola. Zimbabwe also backs the Kabila government. For a very short time, the nation of Chad also sent troops to
aid Kabila.
While the government and the rebels continue to fight and occasionally negotiate, the "allies" from both sides are taking advantage
of the territory they now occupy in Congo to extract natural resources and send them back home. Resources such as gold, silver,
diamonds, and others. Needless to say, all this fighting and the presence of so many foreign troops has caused a horrible loss of life,
mostly among civilians, in the Congo. By the way, even though they are allies against Kabila, troops from Rwanda and Uganda have
engaged in bloody fighting against each other largely over the question of who would control a mineral rich area in eastern Congo.
Congo is truly a mess.
1. The deaths of over a million people
Please cite this source when
appropriate:
