D.R. Congo
The biggest conflict in the world

An estimated 5.4 million people dead since 1998. This number is the biggest since WWII..
Around 1 million people made homeless
Rape used as a systematic weapon of war
Vast mineral resources in the D.R. Congo fuells fighting

【Conflict: 1998-2003】

The 1998-2003 conflict in the D.R. Congo saw huge loss of life. Four million people died, some as a direct result of the violence, but many more from starvation and disease.

The war was between government forces, backed by Angola, Zimbabwe and Namibia, and rebel factions, supported by Rwanda and Uganda.

Fighting was fuelled by the D.R. Congo’s vast mineral resources and by the flow of small arms into the country.

【Continued instability 】

Despite the signing of a peace deal in 2002, and democratic elections in 2006, there is still instability in the east of the country.

Although, according to the UN, some 300,000 people have returned to their homes in parts of the North Kivu, the calm in some areas, has been accompanied by renewed insecurity in others.

The upsurge in fighting has severely hampered the ability of aid agencies to reach those in need.


There are over 10,000 internally displaced people at Buhimba IDP site (Internally displaced person), North Kivu, where Oxfam is providing water and sanitation.(Photo: Liz Lucas / Oxfam America)

【A long way to go 】

People have lost virtually everything – family, friends, homes and their means of making a living
The systematic practice of rape and sexual slavery has led to the rapid advance of HIV and AIDS
Up to 1 million people have been living in camps for displaced people within the D.R. Congo. A million more people sought refuge in neighbouring Rwanda, Tanzania and Burundi.
There is a long way to go for communities to rebuild their lives.



"My husband is dead. I am here with my three grandchildren, aged ten, eight and seven, who live with me. I used to have ten grandchildren, but the others all got sick and died.

Look at what I am living in, look at my home now: it is awful. The four of us have to live in here. I am not strong enough to go and collect water and gather food, so my grandchildren have to do it for me, for us.

I hope that in the future we will be able to get the food and the water we need, and shelter from the rain. Most of all, I want peace."

Fitina Yallala, aged 70 living in in a camp (Photo: Marie Cacace/Oxfam)