Conflicts in Africa

Democratic Republic of the Congo Formerly called Zaire ( ) 3 rd largest country in Africa (land size) Second Congo War beginning in 1998 devastated the country  Involved 7 foreign armies  Referred to as the African World War  War killed 5.4 million people – world’s deadliest conflict since WWII

1996 – Rwandan Hutu militia used refugee camps in eastern Zaire The Hutu militia forces allied with the Zairian armed forces to launch a campaign against Congolese ethnic Tutsis in eastern Zaire Rwandan and Ugandan armies invaded Zaire to overthrow the government and control the mineral resources The 2 nd war led by rebel militias, backed by Rwanda and Uganda, began in 1998

Democratic Republic of Congo is considered to be the richest country in the world regarding natural resources Among the poorest countries in the word – 2 nd lowest GDP Fragile government has allowed continued conflict and human rights abuses In 2009 people in the country were reported dying at a rate of 45,000 each month Death toll is due to widespread disease and famine

UN have denounced the human rights abuses but have done little to help Impact of armed conflict on civilians:  Destruction of proper ty  Widespread sexual violence  Civilians fleeing their homes  200,000 women have been raped  76% of the people in the country have been affected in some way by the conflict  Cannibalism

Refugees

Burundi Civil War: 1993 – 2005 *Ethnic violence between Tutsi dominated army and Hutu rebel groups

*200,000 – 300,000 people were killed *Over 500,000 people (9% of population) have been displaced *Caused serious health, water, and malnutrition problems in camps for Hutus

Burundi Civil War Began after the killing of president Melchior Ndadaye in 1993 by a Tutsi extremist 85% of population are Hutu Tutsi’s are educated – ethnic discrimination Army was controlled by the Tutsi Burundi is poor and densely populated 4/5’s (80%) of the population – subsistence agriculture/farming

1996 – countries put an economic embargo on exports (coffee and tea) Civilians (Hutu) were rounded up and forcibly moved into camps by the Burundi (Tutsi) armed forced The camps were breeding grounds for death, disease, and resentment UN workers were killed trying to provide support Estimated 340,000 are in Tanzania

Rwanda Genocide

Rwanda

Rwandan Genocide Occurred in 1994 Mass murder of around 850,000 people – some reports have the death toll to be 1 million – 20% of the country’s population Took place for approximately 100 days after the assassination of the Hutu leader It was a conflict between the Tutsi minority group and the majority Hutu who had come to power

1990 – Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a rebel group composed mostly of Tutsi refugees, invaded northern Rwanda from Uganda in an attempt to defeat the Hutu-led government They began the Rwandan Civil War As a result of the civil war many Hutu gravitated toward the Hutu Power ideology Hutu Power asserted that the Tutsi intended to enslave the Hutu and must be resisted at all costs

Rwanda Genocide

Many Hutu in the north were displaced Cease fire in 1993 The assassination of Habyarimana in 1994 set off the Hutus’ conducting mass killings of Tutsis Tutsis eventually defeated the government army and seized control of the country Created 2 million refugees

Uganda Genocide

The people of Uganda have suffered severe human rights violations since Between 1966 and 1986:  Denied freedom of opinion  Media was state controlled  Court verdicts were not respected by the security forces More than 2 million people have been killed, maimed, imprisoned, or forced into exile Political change has come through violence

: 1 st Obote regime ,000 Baganda people were murdered : Amin Regime – targeted the Acholi and Langi people, thousands were killed  More than 80,000 people were forced to leave Uganda Many people were killed during the Tanzania led war to oust Amin

: 2 nd Obote regime – caused the deaths of more than 300,000 people (Baganda’s) : More than 100,00 people living in the Acholi region were killed and more than 20,000 children abducted

Uganda Genocide Memorial

UN Report: October, 2010 Found massacres and sexual enslavement of Congolese by the Uganda People’s Defense Force and Rwanda Patriotic Front Civilians were killed over the charcoal trade and taking gold, and timber Ugandan soldiers fired randomly in a village Some civilians died as a result of being burned alive in their homes Uganda and Rwanda governments have tried to block the UN report

Should countries get involved?