THE DESTABILIZATION of the entire central African subcontinent which began in the second half of 1996 has deepened considerably. The 1996-7 rebellion, supported by a near unanimous region, brought Laurent-Desir& Kabila to power in May 1997. Slightly over a year later, a new war erupted on 2 August 1998. Drawing in the armies of six countries, this soon became, in the words of former US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Susan Rice, the 'first African world war'.1 Since its inception, this conflict has become increasingly complex. It involves the government armies of Angola, Zimbabwe and Namibia on the side of the Congolese regime and of Rwanda, Uganda and Burundi on that of rebel forces. The Rassemblement Congolais pour la Democratie (RCDGoma) is supported by Rwanda, while the Mouvement pour la Liberation du Congo (MLC) and the RCD-Bunia, a break-away of the RCD-Goma, are sponsored by Uganda.2 Rwandan and Burundian rebel groups have seized the opportunities of the shifting alliances to join the Kabila camp, thus ensuring access to training and equipment. The former allies Rwanda and Uganda have fought several battles during 1999 and 2000. Their quarrels over access to Congolese resources, political strategies and regional leadership have caused deep wounds which are by no means healed and which continue to hold the germ of open war between them. To make matters worse, there are several wars within the war. The struggle of the mai-mai warriors in eastern Congo against the RCD-Goma, and, more so, against the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA), is supported by many among the population, which heavily resents the Rwandan occupation. This has contributed to an increasing 'Bantu' vs 'Nilotic', 'Hamitic' or 'Hima' ethnogenesis. In the north-eastern region of Ituri, a long-standing conflict between Lendu and Hema has erupted in violent confrontations, exacerbated by the poor and biased security management of the area by the Ugandan army. Economics has played a growing role in the war. The aim of outside military actors is not so much to establish territorial rule or to control