Second Congo War : Ask Biography

Civilians waiting to cross the DRC-Rwanda border (2001)

Military Conflict

Conflict

Second Congo War

Date

2 August 1998 - present

Location

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Result

No clear victory. Withdrawal of Uganda and Rwanda; peace deal with internal combatants, beginning of the Kivu conflict

Democratic Republic of the Congo Dem Rep of Congo,
Namibia,
Zimbabwe,
Angola,
Chad,
Mai-Mai,
Hutu-aligned forces

Uganda,
Rwanda,
Burundi,
Movement for the Liberation of Congo
Rally for Congolese Democracy
Tutsi-aligned forces

Democratic Republic of the Congo Laurent-Désiré Kabila
Democratic Republic of the Congo Joseph Kabila
Namibia Sam Nujoma
Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe
Angola José Eduardo dos Santos
Chad Idriss Déby
Padiri (Mai-Mai),
Dunia (Mai-Mai)

Uganda Yoweri Museveni
Rwanda Paul Kagame
Burundi Pierre Buyoya
Jean-Pierre Bemba (MLC)
Ernest Wamba dia Wamba (RCD)
Laurent Nkunda (Tutsi-militants)

Mai-Mai: 20 � 30,000 militia,
Interahamwe: 20,000+

RCD: Unknown,
Rwanda: 8,000+

3.8-7.8 million dead (1998-present)

Home | Military Conflict | Second Congo War

The Second Congo War, also known as Coltan War and the Great War of Africa, began in August 1998 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly called Zaire), and officially ended in July 2003 when the Transitional Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo took power (though hostilities continue to this day).

The largest war in modern African history, it directly involved eight African nations, as well as about 25 armed groups. By 2008 the war and its aftermath had killed 5.4 million people, mostly from disease and starvation, making the Second Congo War the deadliest conflict worldwide since World War II. Millions more were displaced from their homes or sought asylum in neighboring countries.

Despite a formal end to the war in July 2003 and an agreement by the former belligerents to create a government of national unity, 1,000 people died daily in 2004 from easily preventable cases of malnutrition and disease. The war and the conflicts afterwards are driven by, among other things, the trade in conflict minerals.