The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has endured a long history of tyranny, manipulation and exploitation. The DRC suffered the rule of Belgian King Leopold II, who pillaged the “Congo Free State” for personal enrichment during the period1881-1908. The territory remained under Belgian colonial administration from 1908 to 1960. In 1960, the DRC gained independence from Belgium only to face chaos and potential disintegration.

In 1965, with Western backing, Mobutu Sese Seko rose to power in Congo. For three decades, Mobutu would rule the DRC (renamed Zaire), committing widespread human rights abuses and systematically exploiting the natural resources of the country to consolidate wealth and power. Events following the 1994 Rwandan genocide would finally bring an end to Mobutu’s regime, plunging the DRC into a war of regional proportions.

Following the genocide in Rwanda, Rwandan Hutu refugees, which included many militia members accused of genocide, sought refuge in neighboring DRC. Hutu militias, with the support of Mobutu, used refugee camps in the DRC as bases to continue attacks against the newly formed Tutsi-led government in Rwanda. Mobutu also failed to prevent Hutu militias from inciting violence against the Congolese of Tutsi origin (Banyamulenge Tutsi) in eastern DRC.

In 1996, the Rwandan army, joined by Ugandan forces and a coalition of anti-Mobutu rebel groups led by Laurent Kabila, dismantled the Hutu refugee camps and engaged Mobutu’s government forces. Within a year, foreign and rebel forces overthrew Mobutu and replaced him with Laurent Kabila.

In 1998, Kabila’s moves to sever his strong ties to Rwanda and Uganda prompted these two nations to sponsor rebel interventions in the DRC. In addition to Rwanda and Uganda, war in the DRC drew the involvement of Angola, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Burundi, and even southern Sudanese forces.

Although a peace deal was negotiated in 2003 – signaling an official end to the civil war and withdrawal of foreign troops – conflict has continued to rage in eastern DRC. Since the war began, a reported four million people have died due to the armed conflict and conflict-related disease and famine. Over three million people have been internally displaced. The conflicts in the DRC are fueled largely by ethnic grievances and greed for power and control of resources which include diamonds, oil, uranium, gold, timber, and other rare minerals.

In April 2004, a Congolese transitional government referred crimes committed in the DRC to the International Criminal Court (ICC). Since this referral, three war crimes suspects have been arrested by the ICC. Investigations for war crimes and crimes against humanity in DRC are ongoing.

In 2006, Joseph Kabila, son of Laurent Kabila, was democratically elected president of the DRC. Fighting, fueled by unresolved grievances compounded by weak national institutions, continues in parts of the DRC today.

*Map Credit: UN DPKO

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