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History
The history of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) is characterised by exploitation, turbulence and most recently a conflict that has been fuelled by the plunder of natural resources. To see a more detailed time line of the history of the DR Congo please click here. Peace deals and military campaigns against the FDLR 2009- Following a secret deal between Rwanda and the Congo government Nkunda was ousted as leader of the CNDP rebels in January 2009 and arrested in Rwanda. Under a subsequent peace deal with the CNDP in March 2009 the rebel group was transformed into a political party and rebel forces were integrated into the national army. They also gained control of some of the most lucrative mining areas in eastern DR Congo. Later in March 2009 the newly integrated Congolese armed forces and the Rwandan army undertook a military campaign against the FDLR in Eastern Congo, followed by military operations supported by MONUC to restore liberated territory. Both operations met with strong criticism from human rights groups and led to the displacement of up to 800 000 civilians after the FDLR retaliated and attacked Congolese civilians. In 2010 the UN Security Council renamed MONUC the United Nations Organisation Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) and renewed the peacekeeping force's mandate until June 2011, despite calls from within the DR Congo for UN troops to leave the country. However, violence perpetrated by rebel forces continued to be reported and in July-August 2010 over 300 villagers were reportedly raped by members of the FDLR and local militia forces known as Mai Mai in Walikale, eastern DR Congo. A new government but high levels of violence remain 2007-2009Shortly after Kabila's re-election, secret negotiations between Nkunda and the Congo government led to an agreement in January 2007 where CNDP forces agreed to integrate into the national army. However, continued clashes in the Kivu provinces resulted in the abandonment of the integration process and by mid 2007 the fighting had intensified, causing some 200 000 people to flee their homes. Fighting continued throughout the rest of 2007, and as Nkunda's forces advanced, the Congolese army retreated, looting villages. Violence was also reported in Northern Congo between December 2008-January 2009 when the members of the Lord's Resistance Army, a rebel group originally from Uganda, attacked and killed more than 800 Congolese civilians in retaliation to Congolese and Ugandan military operations against the group. Meanwhile attacks on civilians by a Hutu militia group reported to be supported by the Congolese government called the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) are reported. Some of the FDLRÕs commanders are alleged to have been involved in the Rwandan genocide of 1994. Transitional government and continued fighting in the East 2003-2006In July 2003 Joseph Kabila was sworn in as the president of the transitional government but fighting continued in the eastern provinces of North and South Kivu. A major source of instability was the Rwanda-backed CNDP (National Congress for the Defence of the People), an offshoot of the Rwanda-backed CRD rebels. Led by Laurent Nkunda, the rebel forces had refused to integrate into the Congolese national army after the 2002 peace agreement and led an insurgency against government forces, with regular clashes between the two sides leading to thousands of civilians being displaced. In 2005 a new constitution was passed paving the way for national elections that were won by Joseph Kabila in 2006 after a run-off vote. However, the elections were marred by violence between the forces of Kabila and his rival, Vice-President Jean-Pierre Bemba. Africa's First World War 1998-2002Joseph Kabila's relationship with his neighbouring allies proved to be short-lived and, following Kabila's demands that his Rwandan army backers leave the DR Congo, war broke out in 1998. Also known as Africa's First World War, more than 5 million died as a direct or indirect result of the conflict that involved Rwandan and Ugandan forces fighting the Congolese army, who were supported by Namibia, Zimbabwe and Angola. In addition, most countries that were party to the conflict created and backed various rebel groups in the DR Congo and all plundered Congolese natural resources. After negotiations between all six African countries involved in the conflict a peace agreement was signed in 1999, and was followed by the creation of a UN peacekeeping force called the United Nations Mission in the DR Congo (MONUC), now called MONUSCO and currently the world's largest peacekeeping force. However clashes involving foreign forces and foreign-backed rebel groups continued and in 2001 President Laurent Kabila was assassinated; his son, Joseph Kabila, succeeded him. Over the following year peace deals with various rebels took place culminating in a peace agreement in December 2002 between the government and the main Rwandan backed rebel group, the Congolese Rally for Democracy or CRD. The agreement marked the end of the war and created a transitional government of national unity between the rebels and the government, providing for integration of the rebels forces into the Congolese national army. Mobutu's regime unravels 1990-1997Following the end of the Cold War, Mobutu who had once been an ally of the United States, faced international pressure for democratic reform. Subsequently from 1991 onwards Mobutu introduced multi-party politics and a coalition government with opposition leaders, but retained control of the security forces and remained president. However it was the 1994 genocide in neighbouring Rwanda that was to be a catalyst for major change and conflict in the DR Congo (what was then Zaire). After Tutsi rebel forces overthrew the Rwandan Hutu government which had orchestrated the genocide of some 800 000 Tutsi, over a million Hutu, many of whom had participated in and directed the genocide, fled across the border into eastern DR Congo. This exacerbated ongoing ethnic tensions in eastern DR Congo and in 1996, the Congolese rebel group, the Alliance for Democratic Liberation (ADFL) attacked Hutu refugee camps. Supported by Rwanda (and Uganda) the ADFL continued their rebellion and marched westwards taking control of the capital Kinshasa in 1997. The rebels installed their leader, Laurent Kabila, as President and renamed the country the Democratic Republic of Congo. Colonial territory to Independence 1885-1990In 1885 the Congo Free State was established in what is now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) under the direct control of King Leopold II of Belgium and for his own personal gain. Leopold's regime was particularly brutal and exploitative and it is has been estimated that up to some ten million Congolese were killed or worked to death under his rule. Following international pressure over the treatment of Congolese citizens Leopold sold the territory to the Belgium State in 1908. However, it was not until 1960 that the Congo gained independence from Belgium and held the first free and democratic elections. Political instability was a key feature during the first few years of independence and the country faced army mutiny and a secessionist movement in the province of Katanga. In 1965 Colonel Joseph-Dˇsirˇ Mobutu (later known as Mobutu Sese-Seko) seized power in a coup, remaining president for the next three decades. During his rule Mobutu renamed the country Zaire and reportedly embezzled up to $5 billion, setting up predatory systems to exploit the country's mineral wealth for his own benefit. |
