DRC
Act for Peace in DRC
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) underwent a civil war almost immediately after independence in 1960, which destroyed the elected government and left a dictatorship in its place. This regime of Joseph Mobutu lasted 32 years, before tensions resulting from the Rwandan genocide led to a second war that continued for almost a decade as various dictators tried to claim power over the country. Democratic elections were finally held again in 2006, but the civil war continued to rage as ethnic tensions and armed militias fuelled the conflict.
The Kivu conflict, a major source of violence and human rights abuses in the DRC, officially ended in early 2009 with the capture of the rebel leader, Laurent Nkunda. It has accounted for 2.7 million deaths in the country since 2004. These deaths are due to famine and disease because innocent civilians are being caught between opposing militias. Almost half of these deaths are children under the age of 5. New conflicts and fighting erupted almost immediately after the arrest of Nkunda, which will only make life more difficult for the people living in this region.
