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Conflicts in Africa
Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Formerly called Zaire (1971-1997)• 3rd largest country in Africa (land size)• Second Congo War beginning in 1998
devastated the countryInvolved 7 foreign armiesReferred to as the African World WarWar 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 2nd 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 – 2nd 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 property
Widespread sexual violenceCivilians fleeing their homes200,000 women have been raped76% of the people in the country have
been affected in some way by the conflictCannibalism
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
Uganda Genocide
• The people of Uganda have suffered severe human rights violations since 1962. Between 1966 and 1986:Denied freedom of opinionMedia was state controlledCourt 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
• 1966-1971: 1st Obote regime - 400-1,000 Baganda people were murdered
• 1971-1979: Amin Regime – targeted the Acholi and Langi people, thousands were killedMore than 80,000 people were forced to leave
Uganda• Many people were killed during the Tanzania
led war to oust Amin
• 1980-1985: 2nd Obote regime – caused the deaths of more than 300,000 people (Baganda’s)
• 1986-2003: 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?