The Second Congo War, also called the Great War of Africa, was a major war involving several African governments and rebel groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (both Congolese and foreign). 25 armed groups involved themselves in the conflict that resulted from Laurent-Desire Kabila's betrayal of his Rwandan and Ugandan allies, and around 5.4 million people died from war, disease, and malnutrition.
The First Congo War resulted in the overthrow of Mobutu Sese Seko's authoritarian regime in Zaire, which was transformed into the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Maoist warlord Laurent-Desire Kabila seized power with the help of Tutsi militias, and he oversaw the brutal repression of opposition groups, killing as many as 60,000 civilians in late 1996. On 16 May 1997, Kabila seized power in Kinshasa. However, he soon became unpopular due to the perception that he was a Rwandan pawn. On 14 July 1998, Kabila dismissed his Rwandan chief of staff James Kabarebe and replaced him with the Congolese Celestin Kifwa. Two weeks later, he demanded that all Rwandan and Ugandan military forces leave the country.
As a result, the Banyamulenge Tutsi of eastern Congo rebelled, and they received military assistance from Rwanda. The Tutsis formed the Rwandan and Ugandan-backed Rally for Congolese Democracy (RCD) in Congo's resource-rich eastern provinces, taking control of Kivu. Kabila allied himself with Hutu refugees and provoked anti-Tutsi violence. Uganda soon created its own rebel group, the Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC), which murdered 60,000 Pygmy civilians from 2002 to 2003. Kabila obtained help from Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Angola on 19 August, and Chad, Libya, and Sudan would soon join the war as well. Zimbabwean troops helped fight off a rebel offensive on the capital in September 1998. In 1999, the RCD fell prey to infighting, resulting in clashes in Kisangani. Ugandan forces took advantage of this discord by invading Ituri. In July 1999, a ceasefire was enacted, but few provisions were made to disarm the militias, and fighting soon broke out again. Uganda and Rwanda would engage in the Six-Day War of 5-10 June 2000, fighting over Kisangani and their differing war objectives. Meanwhile, Kabila rebuilt his army and the UN dispatched over 5,500 peacekeepers to Congo.
On 16 January 2001, Kabila was assassinated by one of his bodyguards, a child soldier. His son Joseph Kabila was sworn in as president with backing from Robert Mugabe, and, soon after, Rwanda, Uganda, and the rebels agreed to a UN pullout plan. In 2002, many RCD members either gave up the fight or joined Kabila's forces, while Banyamulenge forces mutinied against their Rwandan protectors. Kabila secured the western Congo, and, in April 2002, a comprehensive peace agreement was formalized. Rwanda and DR Congo made peace on 30 July 2002, and Uganda also made peace in September. In 2003, a transitional government took power. However, violence would persist in the DR Congo's eastern regions, including the Lord's Resistance Army insurgency, the Kivu conflict, and the Ituri conflict.