Never Again

Thirteen years after the Rwandan genocide, Hutus and Tutsi ethnic tension overflows in neighbouring Congo. 370,000 people have been displaced over the past months and Hutu militia and Tutsi warlords battle against each other in the hills of Kivu province. The international community watches silently.

A shaky ceasefire between the Congolese army and Nkunda‘s troops fell apart in late August and skirmishes between them have continued, despite the government‘s announcement to extend a deadline for the dissident troops to join the national army.

Nkunda, who leads the dissident soldiers, says he is defending the interests of Congolese Tutsi, a minority group of which he is a member. He claims that the Tutsi of North Kivu, where he is based, will lack adequate protection if he permits his troops to be fully integrated into the national army and deployed to posts elsewhere in Congo.

His forces have also fought FDLR combatants, many of whom are Rwandan Hutu or members of Congolese groups related to the Hutu. At times the FLDR have fought against Congolese army troops but on other occasions; they have cooperated with soldiers of the government army. In recent operations, FDLR were said to be fighting with government troops against Nkunda.

In addition to killing and abducting scores of civilians, soldiers have engaged in widespread rape and in the looting and destruction of property. All forces used child soldiers and some commanders tried to prevent international child protection agencies from locating and removing children from their ranks.

Somalia - A Broken State

Somalia has been without an effective central government since President Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991. Years of fighting between rival warlords and an inability to deal with famine and disease have led to the deaths of up to one million people.

Comprised of a former British protectorate and an Italian colony, Somalia was created in 1960 when the two territories merged. Since then, its development has been hindered by territorial claims on Somali-inhabited areas of Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti.

In 1991 President Barre was overthrown by opposing clans. But they failed to agree on a replacement and plunged the country into lawlessness and clan warfare. In 2000 clan elders and other senior figures appointed Abdulkassim Salat Hassan president at a conference in Djibouti. A transitional government was set up, with the aim of reconciling warring militias. But as its mandate drew to a close, the administration had made little progress in uniting the country. In 2004, after protracted talks in Kenya, the main warlords and politicians signed a deal to set up a new parliament, which later appointed a president.

The fledgling administration, the 14th attempt to establish a government since 1991, has no civil service or government buildings. It faced a formidable task in bringing reconciliation to a country divided into clan fiefdoms. Its authority was further compromised in 2006 by the rise of Islamists who gained control of much of the south, including the capital, after their militias kicked out the warlords who had ruled the roost for 15 years.

With the backing of Ethiopian troops, forces loyal to the interim administration defeated the Islamists at the end of 2006. Ongoing insurgencies are affecting the stability of much of the country with the Islamic Courts and it followers using suicide bombers and roadside bombs to affect security.

Genocide Without Borders

The Darfur region of Sudan, Eastern Chad and north eastern CAR are experiencing one of the most serious human rights disasters in the world today.

For more than three years, Sudanese government forces and government-backed ethnic militias known as Janjaweed have committed attacks of extraordinary brutality against civilians including: massacres, executions, acts of sexual violence, the burning of towns and villages, and the forced displacement of over two million people.

Many of the displaced now live in refugee camps along Darfur‘s border with Chad. Thousands of people have been killed and millions more are at risk.

Congo the Forgotten War

The Democratic Republic of Congo carries the tragic label of the deadliest war in the world today. An estimated four million people have died since 1998.

Different militia groups and government forces battle it out on a daily basis in the east of the country for control of the mineral rich areas where they can exploit Gold, Coltan, Cassiterite and Diamonds. There are 18 major natural resources in DRC all of which at some stage have proved to be a curse on the people of DRC.

Government troops and UN soldiers have worked over the past months to try to expel the Militia forces from their strongholds. This has led to the deaths of thousands and the displacement of tens of thousands. Families fee from their burnt villages to areas where they hope they can rest and seek sanctuary from the fighting.