The country was re-named the Democratic Republic of Congo and Kabila took over as president in September 1997. Second Congo War/ The Great War of Africa: August 1998 – July 2003. Despite the new government, the eastern Congo continued to be an unstable war zone. read more
They were separated at most by a year and a half and no one can say for sure that the second war is over as we speak. Essentially it is much easier to think of it as"the Congo conflict that began in the mid 90s and continues to this day". read more
The First Congo War (1996–1997) was a foreign invasion of Zaire led by Rwanda that replaced President Mobutu Sésé Seko with the rebel leader Laurent-Désiré Kabila. Destabilization in eastern Zaire resulting from the Rwandan genocide was the final factor that caused numerous internal and external factors to align against the corrupt and inept government in the capital, Kinshasa. read more