Congo's Conflict: Profit and Loss

The war beginning in 1998 that pitted the armies of Congo, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Angola against those of Uganda and Rwanda induced the largest humanitarian disaster since World War II, with an estimated four million Congolese lives lost. Congo's first national elections since 1965 have taken place, but true peace and democracy remain elusive goals.

The population is continuously caught in a deadly whirlpool fueled by weapons transfers, infrastructure breakdown, ineffective leadership and insecurity. Mvemba Phezo Dizolele traveled through Congo in June and July to cover one of the most under-reported conflicts in the world today. His reports on the elections, small arms trade and the role of Coltan in the ongoing conflict have appeared in The New York Times, The St. Louis Post Dispatch and on PBS.