The Democratic Republic of Congo. (Areas of Conflict).

Late in 1965, Mobutu Sese Seko seized control of the country in a military coup. In his first years as president, Mobutu brought political stability, although there were a number of short-lived regionally based revolts, and students occasionally protested his dictatorial rule. In 1970, Mobutu was elected to a seven-year term as president, and in the early 1970s he started a program of Africaniza-tion. In 1971, the country's name was changed from Congo to Zaire. He urged Zaireans to drop their non-African names. In 1973, many foreign businesses were taken over by the government. Some economic-development projects were completed, but Zaire remained dependent on income from copper exports. World copper prices fell sharply in the mid-1970s, and largely as a result of the consequent drop in Zaire's export earnings, foreign debt rose.

In 1977, and again in 1978, Zaire (with the help of Belgium, France, Morocco, and other countries) repulsed invasions from Angola by former residents of Shaba region (as Katanga had been renamed in 1972).

A sluggish economy remained Zaire's greatest problem in the early 1980s. Discontent with Mobutu intensified in the early 1990s, as the economy deteriorated and outbreaks of violence and looting led many European and American civilians to flee the country.

Zaire had been called a "kleptocracy." The word comes from the ancient Greek for thief - kleptes- and describes a system in which a nation's public resources are stolen by government officials. Foreign loans, military aid, state export taxes all disappeared without trace. Most of it was said to reappear in President Mobutu's secret bank accounts in Switzerland. The president became one of the richest men in the world, while his country ran up a debt of $13 billion.

However, his riches were not able to buy him security for ever. Following the massacre of Tutsis in Rwanda in 1994, hundreds of thousands of Hutu refugees fled the country. Those who crossed the border into Zaire clustered in huge refugee camps. Among the women and children were thousands of Hutu soldiers who had taken part in the Tutsi massacres. They used the camps as bases to launch attacks against the Tutsi-led government of their former home. These camps sprang up in an area of Eastern Zaire inhabited by a group called the Banyamulenge. For 200 years, these ethnic-Tutsis have lived and prospered in the region, but have become unpopular with Zaireans. The Hutu militias in the camps started stirring up resentments towards the Banyamulenge. Zaire persecuted them and ordered the "foreigners" to leave. The Banyamulenge refused and rose in rebellion.

The Zairean army proved to be no match for the rebels. Government soldiers were poorly trained and often unpaid. They were demoralized and their leadership was weak. They were fighting on behalf of a corrupt government led by a dictator.

The rebels were led by Laurent Kabila and received help from neighbouring countries such as Rwanda, Uganda, and Burundi. As they advanced across the country, the rebels were welcomed as liberators from the oppressive reign of President Mobutu. They very quickly gained control of the entire country. By May 1997, Mobutu had fled and Laurent Kabila had taken over as president.

But, it soon became clear that the new government was little better than the one it replaced. By November 1997, there were reports that terror, harassment of opposition politicians, and corruption had become as common as under President Mobutu. By August 1998, the country was at war again. Many of the soldiers who had helped bring Mr. Kabila to power had turned against him. Some people were beginning to call the conflict in Congo "Africa's World War." Ignoring the contradiction within the phrase, the war grew uglier and bigger.

The government has support, both moral and military, from Angola, Zimbabwe, and Namibia. The rebels count on Uganda and Rwanda for manpower and firepower. Burundi also has soldiers in the Congo.

All combatants have signed on to a ceasefire, but there is little evidence of troops being withdrawn. The rebels control the north and east of the country, the government has the south and west.

The Economist reports that "neither the government nor the rebels have a coherent plan for Congo's future and both are deeply unpopular."

Then, in January 2001, the story is that one of President Laurent Kabila's own bodyguards shot the country's leader. The guard himself is then said to have been killed. But, the truth surrounding Mr. Kabila's death may lie somewhere else.

Shortly after his father's assassination, Joseph Kabila became Congo's President. The Congolese parliament later confirmed the appointment unanimously.

The new President Kabila says he wants to bring an end to the country's long civil war. However, observers wonder whether he has the power base or the political skills to achieve this goal.

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Websites

Congo Crisis - http://www.dac.neu.edu/congocrisis/

Discussion Groups on the Congo - http:// groups.yahoo.com/search?query=Congo

International Crisis Group - http:// www.crisisweb.org