Civil+War+and+Ethnic+Conflict

**History**
During the period between August 1998 and April 2004 (when a bulk of the fighting occurred) about 3.8 million people died in the Democratic Republic of Congo DRC (DRC; formerly called Zaire under President Mobutu Sese Seko) and millions more were displaced to neighboring countries. The majorities of the death during the war were who died from starvation and disease. This war was affected the lives of 50 million Congolese The war and genocide in neighboring Rwanda had spilled over to the DRC (then Zaire) during late 1996. Rwandan Hutu militia forces (Interahamwe) who fled Rwanda following the ascension of a Tutsi-led government were using Hutu refugee camps in eastern Zaire as bases for incursions against Rwanda. Rwandan troops (RPA), supported by Uganda entered the DRC with an armed coalition led by Laurent-Desire Kabila (AFDL). With the goal of forcibly ousting Mobutu Sese Seko., Mobutu left the country, and Kabila marched into Kinshasa on 17 May 1997. Kabila declared himself president, consolidated power around himself and the AFDL, and renamed the country the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). RPA units continued to operate with the DRC's military, which was renamed the Forces Armees Congolaises (FAC). Congolese Tutsis, as well as the Governments of Brundi, Rwanda, and Uganda, all relied on the Rwandan military presence in DRC for protection against hostile armed groups operating from the eastern part of the country. These groups included, Hutus from Rwanda, Hutus from Brundi and troops formed from Rwandan immigrants, and troops supported by Sudan. Kabila ordered all foreign troops to leave the DRC in 1996; and most refused to leave. Fighting renewed throughout the DRC as Rwandan troops "mutinied," and fresh Rwandan and Ugandan troops entered the DRC in 1997. Rwandan troops gathered in Bas-Congo, with the intention of marching on Kinshasa, ousting Laurent Kabila, and replacing him with the newly formed Rwandan-backed rebel group called the Rassemblement Congolais pour la Democratie (RCD). The Rwandan campaign was thwarted at the last minute when Angolan, Zimbabwean, and Namibians intervened on behalf of the DRC Government. The Rwandans and the RCD withdrew to eastern DRC, where they established de facto control over portions of eastern DRC and continued to fight the Congolese Army. Later, Uganda backed the formation of a rebel group called the Mouvement pour la Liberation du Congo (MLC). Together, Uganda and the MLC established control over the northern third of the DRC.

**Political Impact**
A myriad of little wars, stemming from the death of Rwandan president Juvénal Habyarimana and the Hutu and Tutsi conflict, spilled over to the DRC following the Rwandan genocide. To flee the Genocide in Rwanda, many crossed the border to the DRC.

When these ethnic groups traveled to the DRC, they brought their ideas of “ethnic cleansing” and wars with other ethnic groups with them, disregarding any previous governments. Because of this, the already fragile government of the Congo continued to degrade and lose power. During this degradation, the government of the DRC has fallen into chaos trying to fight the many groups of rebels. The Congolese army, lacking the appropriate resources to aptly deal with the sheer numbers of rebel fighters, has enlisted the help of the Rwandan government to help deal with the rebellion. This “bond” has resulted in a difficult relationship between the two governments-the Rwandan military is in a position of power within the DRC, while Joseph Kabila, who came into power when his father was killed, is now promoting a peace oriented government but lacks military resources to take care of the extremists within the DRC.

However, also because of these events, many of the DRC's resources have been mismanaged. resources that were owned by the government (and also sold) were resold over and over again; many times to a corrupt foreign leader. This lack of management by the government resulted in having little or no resources to themselves. Unless the government forcibly "stole" these resources from their buyers, they cannot gain much money for their country on the resources.

**Economical Impact**
The DRC is a country rich with natural minerals; some of these minerals are very important for manufacturing small electronics, laptops and cell phones. The following are the natural resources of the DRC: water, diamonds, coltan, cassiterite, tin, copper and timber A great deal of the civil war in the DRC has to do with the minerals, and who controls the natural resources. All countries and groups involved in the war have been accused of having been involved due to the vast resources in this country. Unfortunately, the Congolese suffered greatly during the war, and their individual economic situations are far worse than it was before the war. The Congolese are still living in complete poverty while others are steeling the resources of the country for their own riches. Yet, despite the unbelievable toll this war took on the children, the world turned a deaf ear to what was occurring in the DRC because it world got the minerals they needed.

**Social Impact**
Since the fighting has begun in 1998, approximately 5.4 million people have died. The Congo war has been the deadliest conflict since World War II. Unfortunately, most people that have died during the war have died because of diseases such as malaria, diarrhea, pneumonia, and malnutrition. Right now, there are still 1.5 million people that are displaced or refugees. The children account for 47% of the deaths. Around 45,000 people still die each month. In recent years, rebel groups have barged and attacked villages, and the governments attempts to defeat the groups, have actually made the situation worse for the civilians. The government’s attempts caused militias to launch strikes against the villagers. Rape and assault of women also occurs during war. Rape is used to demoralize and humiliate the civilians, and spread the HIV/AIDS virus. In many cases, the women need surgery to repair the damage, but that doesn’t always work. The women also experience psychological damage.

**Future Issues**
Some ways that issues within the DRC can be fixed is with increased trade (particularly exports of valuable minerals), a stronger military, and a less corrupt government. Increased trade within the DRC would allow the government to raise money for the purpose of increase both humanitarian and military efforts within the country. In addition, these advances would need to be made with foreign companies because of lack of capital from any DRC based corporations. This money obtained from taxes and other export resources would result in an increase in money that could be spent at other places in the country. Although this would directly increase the standards of living at the general population in all the country, it would provide the citizens with a method of working, and therefore generate income at the lowest level. A stronger, more robust military would aid in the peacekeeping of the nation, and help prevent destabilization of the government by internal struggles for power by various ethnic groups. Despite multiple groups such as the U.N. Peacekeeping forces trying to stop the fighting, nothing has been successful. A larger military would provide the government with a way of fighting off any rebels, which would allow them to control their own borders; relying on other governments and agencies provides them with less soldiers at the ready in the event of an emergency. A less corrupt government, although not directly allowing any increase within the government would decrease the amount of money being steadily hemorrhaged by the government because of the ineptness and inability of the government to adequately allocate resources for the good of the people. If this was corrected, it would leave more money for other needs, besides bribing officials. Although this is just a starting point, it would be a good starting point for a whole "redesign" of the countries infrastructure.

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