Six-Day War and the roots of the never-ending wars in Eastern DRC

Exactly 24 years ago, a war ended which had lasted only six days but killed more than 1000 people. It ripped through Kisangani, DRC’s fifth largest city, which straddles a region rich in diamonds and a strategic river port at the confluence of the Congo, Lindi and Tshopo river. 

From 5th to 10th June 2000, an outbreak of violence was perpetrated by the Rwandan and Ugandan armies in support of their own rival local factions to control territory.

The “Six-Day War” resulted in numerous victims: more than a thousand dead and more than five hundred wounded, in almost total civilian casualties plus 20,000 displaced.

The fighting was part of a wider conflict known as the Second Congo War (1998-2003).

More telling, though, is how the Six-Day War illustrates the lengths that foreign actors would go for controlling resource-rich areas in DRC.

Even though the Second Congo War ended more than two decades ago, its main legacy is a situation of never ending conflicts with the rise of more than 100 rebel groups, backed especially by the Rwandan government, and not surprisingly, operating mostly in the resource-rich east and northeast areas of DRC.