For the last 10 years, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has been embroiled in a conflict that has claimed over 5 million lives and displaced more than 1 million people. After the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, in which Hutus massacred nearly one million Tutsis, the perpetrators of the genocide fled to DR Congo, where they have continued to prey on Congolese Tutsis. Currently, the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP) lead by renegade General Laurent Nkunda claims to be protecting Tutsis from Hutu militias. However the motives for territorial control run far deeper than ethnicity, the country holds vast amounts of natural resources, including diamonds, cassiterite and coltan. Combined, all sides of the conflict including the Congolese army (FARDC) have conscripted over 30 000 child soldiers and have used rape as a weapon of war, with reported cases numbering over 40 000. Numerous peace agreements have been signed and broken. Recent fighting in October resulted in the displacement of 250 000 people, and the advancement of the CNDP brought the front lines of the conflict only 10 km away from the provincial capital of Goma. Life in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo continues. Regardless of ethnic background, most people struggle to feed their family, and after 10 years, a generation of children know nothing more than the atrocities of war.
