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Competition for control of resources between the anti-Kabila forces has also resulted in conflict. In [[1999]], Ugandan and Rwandan troops clashed in the city of [[Kisangani]]. The RCD also split into two factions, greatly weakening the anti-Kabila rebel forces and limiting their operation to the eastern portion of the country. However, the forces loyal to and allied with Kabila were too depleted and exhausted to take advantage of this.
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The initial rebel offensive in a matter of weeks threatened the Kabila government, which was only saved through the rapid intervention of a number of other African states. For a time it looked that, as the rebel forces were forced back, an escalation in the conflict to a conventional war between multiple national armies loomed. Such an outcome was avoided as battle lines stabilized in 1999. Since then the conflict has primarily been fought by [[irregular military|irregular proxy forces]] with little change in the territories held by the various parties.
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On [[2 August]] [[1998]], the Banyamulenge in the town of [[Goma]] erupted into mutiny. Rwanda offered immediate assistance to the Banyamulenge and early in August a well-armed rebel group, the [[Rally for Congolese Democracy]] (RCD), composed primarily of Banyamulenge and backed by Rwanda and Uganda had emerged. This group quickly came to dominate the resource-rich eastern provinces and based its operations in the city of [[Goma]]. The RCD quickly took control of the towns of Bukavu and Uvira in the Kivus. The Tutsi-led Rwandan government allied with Uganda, and Burundi also retaliated, occupying a portion of northeastern Congo. To help remove the occupying Rwandans, President Kabila enlisted the aid of the [[Hutu]] militants in eastern Congo and began to agitate public opinion against the Tutsis, resulting in several public lynchings in the streets of Kinshasa. On [[12 August]] a loyalist army major broadcast a message urging resistance from a radio station in [[Bunia]] in eastern Congo: "People must bring a machete, a spear, an arrow, a hoe, spades, rakes, nails, truncheons, electric irons, barbed wire, stones, and the like, in order, dear listeners, to kill the Rwandan Tutsis." [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/monitoring/149901.stm]
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The Rwandan government also claimed a substantial part of eastern Congo as "historically Rwandan". The Rwandans alleged that Kabila was organizing a genocide against their Tutsi brethren in the [[Kivu]] region. The degree to which Rwandan intervention was motivated by a desire to protect the Banyamulenge, as opposed to using them as a smokescreen for its own regional aspirations, remains in question.
In a bold move, RCD rebels hijacked a plane and flew it to the government base of [[Kitona]] on the Atlantic coast, where other mutinous government soldiers joined them. More towns in the east and around Kitona fell in rapid succession as the combined RCD, Rwandan and Ugandan soldiers overwhelmed the government forces amid a flurry of ineffectual diplomatic efforts by various African nations. By [[13 August]], less than two weeks after the revolt began, the rebels held the Inga hydroelectric station that provided power to Kinshasa as well as the port of Matadi through which most of the Kinshasa's food passed. The diamond center of [[Kisangani]] fell into rebel hands on [[23 August]] and forces advancing from the east had begun to threaten Kinshasa by late August. Uganda, while retaining joint support of the RCD with Rwanda, also created a rebel group that it supported exclusively, the [[Movement for the Liberation of Congo]] (MLC).
Despite the movement of the front lines, fighting continued throughout the country. Even as rebel forces advanced on Kinshasa, government forces continued to battle for control of towns in the east of the country. The Hutu militants with which Kabila was cooperating were also a significant force in the east. Nevertheless, the fall of the capital and Kabila, who had spent the previous weeks desperately seeking support from various African nations and Cuba, seemed increasingly certain.
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The rebel offensive was abruptly reversed as Kabila's efforts at diplomacy bore fruit. The first to respond were fellow members of the [[Southern African Development Community]] (SADC). While officially the SADC members are bound to a mutual defense treaty in the case of outside aggression, many member nations took a neutral stance to the conflict. However, [[Namibia]], [[Zimbabwe]] and [[Angola]] all quickly threw their support behind the Kabila government after a meeting in the Zimbabwean capital of [[Harare]] on [[19 August]]. The motivations of the nations differed widely:
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Despite frequent accusations of misdeeds in the Congo, the Rwandan government continued to receive substantially more international aid than went to the vastly larger Congo. Rwandan President Paul Kagame was also still respected internationally for his leadership in ending the [[Rwandan Genocide]] and for his efforts to rebuild and reunite Rwanda.
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A number of attempts to end the violence were made, but these were not successful. In 2002 Rwanda's situation began to worsen. Many members of the RCD either gave up fighting or decided to join Kabila's government. Moreover, the [[Banyamulenge]], the backbone of Rwanda's militia forces, became increasingly tired of control from [[Kigali]] and the unending conflict. A number of them mutinied, leading to violent clashes between them and Rwandan forces. At the same time the western Congo was becoming increasingly secure under the younger Kabila. International aid was resumed as [[inflation]] was brought under control.
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In this period the [[International Rescue Committee]] reported that the conflict was killing 1,000 people a day, and calls the international response "abysmal". Comparing the war with Iraq, it said that during 2004 Iraq received aid worth the equivalent of $138 per person, whilst the Congo received $3 per person. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4080867.stm]
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In late [[November 2004]], Rwandan president [[Paul Kagame]] declared that Rwanda retained the option of sending troops into Congo to fight Hutu militants, in particular the [[Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda]] (FDLR) that has not yet been disarmed as promised in the 2002 [[Pretoria Agreement]]. As of mid-December 2004 there were many reports that Rwandan forces had crossed the border. MONUC chief [[M'Hand Djalouzi]], commenting on the reports, said on [[December 1]], "Infiltration is nothing new but this is something else, it has the appearance of an invasion." It remains unclear whether the Rwandan military is holding territory or carrying out temporary operations. The UN has promised to investigate.
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