Excerpts from Books and Wikipedia
"DRCongo has been embroiled in conflicts since independence in 1960. Its latest cycle of civil war began in the 1990s when neighboring Rwanda’s conflict spilled over into what was then still known as Zaïre. Ever since, competing networks of local rebel groups, insurgents from adjoining countries, and the militaries of various African states have combined to ravage the country. This series of interconnected conflicts has now become known as “Africa’s continental war.” Among its complex causes are local disputes over land and resources, the expansionist goals of rebel groups and predatory neighboring states, and myriad ethnic political grievances. By mid- 2016, the estimated death toll stood at well over 5 million. As for DRCongo’s economic geography, it was being reshaped by rebel groups controlling the export of copper, coltan, and other highly valuable minerals, which increasingly enter the global marketplace through a network of clandestine trade channels still in the making." [Geography: Realms, Regions, and Concepts, 17th Edition, p. 312, 314]