The deadliest worldwide conflict since World War Two, the war in the eastern parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has claimed millions of lives since fighting began in the late 1990s, with civilians killed indiscriminately and children recruited to be soldiers. Although it is one of the poorest countries in the world, the eastern DRC has huge natural resources, including important industrial minerals, and these have helped to finance guerilla operations, and led to the involvement of force from neighbouring countries, prolonging the war.
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