The conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is one of the deadliest the world has ever witnessed. One report estimates the death toll at 5.4 million while a more conservative count puts it at one million dead. Much of the conflict is centred in North Kivu and South Kivu provinces, which lie on the DRC’s eastern border. The provinces border on Uganda in the north-east, Rwanda and Burundi to the east and Tanzania towards the south-east.
Different scholars have attributed the recurrent conflict to ethnicity and nationality. In recent years much of the focus has been on the illegal exploitation of Congolese natural resources. However, this does not explain the prevalence of the other two drivers of the conflict.
