Conflict in the Congo Region is Increasing
NY times articleIn the Congo, a continuation of the already terrifying war is happening. The civil war in the Congo, which supposedly ended in 2003, was the deadliest war in modern African history. The war has killed as much as 6 million people since 1996, and is fueled by increasing ethnic issues between the Hutus and the Tutsis. Atrophied and malnourished children lay in the streets and hospitals of the Congo as a result of the conflict. The pinnacle of the conflict between the two groups was in 1994, when 800,000 people were killed as a result of the hatred in neighboring Rwanda. Many rebel groups have been conniving to usurp power in the government of the Congo. As the war continues, the divisive struggle is forcing more and more people from their homes and into refugee camps. As many as 400,000 people have been forced out of their homes in the past year alone. Refugee camps are becoming less and less capacious, and more and more people are being displaced. "This is the worst situation we've had" says Patrick Lavand’homme, a UN official, "and it is going to get much, much worse." The region is on the verge of exploding into civil war, and the U.S. and Britain are becoming more and more scrupulous in their attention to the region. Rebel groups in Rwanda has put more and more pressure on both parties to stop fighting, and they have threatened to interfere with the conflict. Both groups have made no attempt to fabricate an excuse for this conflict or cover it up, and yet involvement from non-African nations is minimal. This month, The UN will vote on whether to have UN peacekeeping forces in the region.
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