Raging since 1996, the conflict in DRC is the deadliest since WWII. The current crisis centers mostly in the eastern provinces, where clashes between various rebel groups, the Congolese army and militias supported by neighboring countries fight for control of the DRC’s precious mineral wealth. Innocent civilians are caught in the middle, slaughtered, brutalized and raped by all parties to the conflict as they struggle to control territory. The systematic practice of rape and sexual slavery has led to the rapid advance of HIV and AIDS.

Democratic Republic of Congo – The Numbers

• 5.4 million civilians killed by war-related violence, hunger and disease since 1998
• Up to 45,000 continue to die each month
• Hundreds of thousands of women and girls have reportedly been raped in a systematic campaign to destroy entire communities by using women’s bodies as battlegrounds.
• 1.5 million internally displaced, often uprooted several times by various warring factions
• 800,000 civilians newly displaced just since January 2009.