Which groups are fighting there still?

The current situation is very complicated, due to the many breakaway groups and rival militias that have formed in the last decade. There are three main factions: the ill-disciplined and poorly paid Congolese national army, or FARDC; the Hutu extremist FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda), many of whom carried out the Rwandan genocide in 1994 and who finance themselves by illegal mining; and the Rwandan-sponsored CNDP (National Congress for the Defence of the People). This Tutsi rebel group fought against both the FARDC and the FDLR until January 2009, when President Kabila, realising that they could not be defeated, made a deal with Rwanda in a rare instance of co-operation between the two countries. He allowed the Rwandan army to enter the country to fight the FDLR directly, in exchange for the arrest in Rwanda of the CNDP leader Laurent Nkunda (’the Butcher of Kisangani’). The new CNDP leader Bosco Ntaganda, also known as ‘the Terminator’, has agreed to integrate his forces into the Congolese army, although at the time of writing they appear to retain a degree of autonomy. Both Nkunda and Ntaganda have been indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court. Besides these, there are Hutu splinter groups such as the Rastas, ‘a mysterious gang of dreadlocked fugitives who live deep in the forest, wear shiny tracksuits and Los Angeles Lakers jerseys and are notorious for burning babies, kidnapping women and literally chopping up anybody who gets in their way’ (New York Times), and also the Mai-Mai, locally formed militias who believe they possess magical powers and fight, often naked and smeared in oil, against all of the above groups, especially the CNDP.

According to UN reports, Angolan troops are also present, co-operating with the government forces, while 2008 saw the arrival of Ugandan and South Sudanese armies as well. Their aim was to crush the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a cannibalistic cult who have been fighting the Ugandan government for 20 years and are now terrorising north-eastern Congo. Their leader, Joseph Kony, claims to be a spirit medium and a messenger of God. He too has been indicted by the ICC, and if arrested and brought to trial he will face 21 charges of war crimes and 12 charges of crimes against humanity.