The Great African war.

Everyone knows about World War 2, why it happened, who started it, who won and who lost. The names of the major players are well known - Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Churchill, Roosevelt, Truman. Even campaigns, the battle of the Bulge, Normandy, D-Day,Pearl Harbor,. We know most of the countries involved, - Germany, Soviet Union, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Japan.

But almost no one knows about another long running war, in the heart of Africa, a major war, with lots of casualties and refugees, almost comparable to the Second World War.

The Second Congo War, also known as Africa's World War or the Great War of Africa, was a major conflict that began on 2 August 1998 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), just over a year after the First Congo War. The war initially erupted when Congolese president Laurent-Désiré Kabila turned against his former allies from Rwanda and Uganda, who had helped him seize power. Eventually, the conflict expanded, drawing in nine African nations and approximately 25 armed groups, making it one of the largest wars in African history.

Although a peace agreement was signed in 2002, and the war officially ended on 18 July 2003 with the establishment of the Transitional Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, violence has persisted in various regions, particularly in the east, through ongoing conflicts such as the Lord's Resistance Army insurgency and the Kivu and Ituri conflicts.

The Second Congo War and its aftermath caused an estimated 5.4 million deaths, primarily due to disease and malnutrition, making it the deadliest conflict since World War II, according to a 2008 report by the International Rescue Committee. However, this figure has been disputed, with some researchers arguing that many of the deaths may have occurred regardless of the war and that the actual death toll was closer to 3 million. The conflict also displaced approximately 2 million people, forcing them to flee their homes or seek asylum in neighboring countries. Additionally, the war was heavily funded by the trade of conflict minerals, which continues to fuel violence in the region, even to this day. Just watching the news reports of the emergency meeting of the United Nations security counsel about the continuing fighting and war crimes by the rebel militia M23 backed by Rwanda who attacked an outpost of U.N. Peacekeepers, killing 13 peacekeeper, shows us that it isn’t close to ending.

The First and Second Congo Wars, which sparked the violence, involved multiple foreign armies, ad hoc militia groups, and investors from Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Angola, Namibia, Chad, Libya, and Sudan, South Africa and Uganda.

It is probable that International involvement by countries outside of Africa to broker a peace will be needed to end this war, the U.S. the United Kingdom, France, to name a few. But even their involvement isn’t guaranteed to bring an end to the war. The vast majority of people in the first world don’t care about what happens in Africa, don’t know anyone in Africa, will never go to Africa. I was born in Africa, Rhodesia to be precise, which was a British colony until 1980 when it gained independence and changed to Zimbabwe. So I was aware of the Great War I’d Africa. None of my friends were aware. Uganda, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Chad and Sudan were at one time British colonies. Angola was a Portuguese colony. Namibia although originally a German colony, was given to South Africa to run after W.W.1. Libya was an Italian colony.Rwanda originally was colonized by Germany, taken by Belgium after W.W.1. The Democratic Republic of the Congo was originally colonized by Belgium. So those European nations should step up and help broker a peace, as they have more of a history than all other countries around the world. Africa needs help.