The war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC - formerly called Zaire under President Mobutu Sese Seko) is the widest interstate war in modern African history. The DRC has become an environment in which numerous foreign players have become involved, some within the immediate sub-region, and some from much further afield. That only serves to complicate the situation and to make peaceful resolution of the conflict that much more complex. The war, centered mainly in eastern Congo, has involved nine African nations and directly affected the lives of 50 million Congolese
