xxxviii, 529 pages : 25 cm

The Rwandan genocide sparked a horrific bloodbath that swept across sub-Saharan Africa, ultimately leading to the deaths of some four million people. In this history of the recent wars in Central Africa, Gerard Prunier offers an account of how one grisly episode laid the groundwork for a sweeping and disastrous upheaval. Prunier describes the grisly aftermath of the Rwandan genocide, when some two million refugees -- a third of Rwanda's population -- fled to exile in Zaire in 1996. The new Rwandan regime then crossed into Zaire and attacked the refugees, slaughtering upwards of 400,000 people. The Rwandan forces then turned on Zaire's despotic President Mobutu and, with the help of a number of allied African countries, overthrew him. But as Prunier shows, the collapse of the Mobutu regime and the ascension of the corrupt and erratic Laurent-Desire Kabila created a power vacuum that drew Rwanda, Uganda, Angola, Zimbabwe, Sudan, and other African nations into an extended and chaotic war. The heart of the book documents how the whole core of the African continent became engulfed in an intractable and bloody conflict after 1998, a devastating war that only wound down following the assassination of Kabila in 2001. Prunier not only captures all this in his narrative, but he also indicts the international community for its utter lack of interest in what was then the largest conflict in the world

Includes bibliographical references (pages 469-514) and index

Also published as: From genocide to continental war: the 'Congolese' conflict and the crisis of contemporary Africa

Rwanda's mixed season of hope (July 1994-April 1995) -- From Kibeho to the attack on Zaire (April 1995-October 1996) -- The Congo basin, its interlopers, and its onlookers -- Winning a virtual war (September 1996-May 1997) -- Losing the real peace (May 1997-August 1998) -- A continental war (August 1998-August 1999) -- Sinking into the quagmire (August 1999-January 2001) -- Not with a bang, but with a whimper: The war's confused ending (January 2001-December 2002) -- From war to peace: Congolese transition and conflict deconstruction (January 2003-July 2007) -- Groping for meaning: The "Congolese" conflict and the crisis of contemporary Africa -- Appendix 1: Seth Sendashonga's murder

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