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The Democratic Republic of
the Congo, seen in red on the map of Africa, is a very beautiful
country with a proud history. But for years, this country has
been troubled with terrible violence. Have you heard of this
country? A series of wars officially ended in 2003, and the
country held its first free elections in decades in 2006. Yet
in some parts of the country, peace has never come. Some
of the problems are due to conflicts between different ethnic
groups here, tribes that have very long histories of anger toward
one another. The main violence involves clashes between government
soldiers and rebel groups that want to gain control of areas
of the country, particularly a region in the east near the border
with Rwanda. The fighting has forced many thousands of innocent
people to flee their homes. On the left is a rebel leader named
Laurent Nkunda. Some people say that Mr. Nkunda is one
of the main reasons this region hasn't seen peace, but Mr. Nkunda
says he is only looking out for his people, a group called the
Tutsis. Observers say the conflict is partly fueled by hatred
between the Tutsis and another group, the Hutus. In 1994, about
800,000 Tutsis were killed by angry Hutus in Rwanda. The anger
over this terrible time still affects the people of this region
and helps feed the endless violence. |
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