Congo Civil War
The Congo Civil War is a conflict taking place largely in the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire). The widest interstate war in modern African history, it has directly involved nine African nations. According to the International Rescue Committee, nearly 3 million people have been killed since 1998 with millions more displaced from their homes or seeking asylum in neighboring countries. Despite several partially successful peace initiatives and agreements, some hostilities are still ongoing, as of autumn 2004.
Origins
The Congo Civil war began on August 2, 1998, after Laurent-Désiré Kabila had overthrown the regime of Mobutu Sese Seko in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). In an attempt to consolidate power, the new President tried to expel Rwandan military forces from the DRC. These were the same armed forces under the banner of the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire (ADFL) that had helped Kabila overthrow the previous authoritarian regime. To aid in the removal of the occupying Rwandans, Kabila enlisted the aid of Hutu insurgents in eastern Congo. These rebels were responsible for the Rwandan massacres of Tutsis in 1994 and now operated within Congo's borders against Rwanda. The Tutsi-led Rwandan government allied with Uganda and Burundi retaliated, occupying a portion of northwestern Congo to protect their own borders against Hutu rebels based in eastern Congo.
A few months later Zimbabwe to the south led by President Robert Mugabe, joined Kabila, lured by Congo's rich natural resources (gold, diamonds, metals, timber). Angola caught up in its own 25-year-old war against UNITA rebels, also allied with Congo to eliminate the UNITA rebels in southern Congo. Chad and Namibia as allies of Angola joined as well.
By the end of 1998, the Congolese government had lost control of more than one-third of the country's territory to the Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD), dominated by members of the Tutsi ethnic minority and backed by Rwanda, Uganda, and Burundi.
Course of the war
Lusaka Peace Agreement
In July, 1999, the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement was signed by the six warring countries (Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, and Uganda) and rebel groups in an attempt to stop the civil war. The UN Security Council deployed liaison personnel in August 1999 to support the ceasefire. However in the following months all sides accused the others of repeatedly breaking the ceasefire, and it became clear that small incidents could trigger attacks.
Pretoria Accord
On 22 July 2002 Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo reached a peace deal after five days of talks in South Africa. The talks centered on two issues. One was the withdrawal of the estimated 20,000 Rwandan troops in the DRC. The other was what the rounding up and dismantling of the ex-Rwandan soldiers and Hutu extremist militia known as Interahamwe, which took part in Rwanda's 1994 genocide and continues to operate out of eastern Congo. Rwanda had an estimated 20-thousand troops in the DRC and had refused to withdraw them until the Interahamwe militiamen are dealt with.
Luanda Agreement
Gbadolite Agreement
Sun City Agreement
Transitional government
In April, 2001, a UN panel of experts investigated the illegal exploitation of diamonds, cobalt, coltan, gold and other lucrative resources in the DRC. The report accused Rwanda, Uganda and Zimbabwe of systematically exploiting Congolese resources and recommended the Security Council impose sanctions.
In January, 2001 Laurent Kabila was assassinated, and by unanimous vote of the Congolese parliament his son Joseph Kabila was sworn in as president.
In September 2004, between 20,000 and 150,000 were fleeing unrest in the eastern History of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
