Since its independence in 1992, Eritrea has taken part in multiple wars and clashes with its neighbors. Most notably the war with Ethiopia and border conflict with Djibouti. Especially with Djibouti Eritrea have had several wars and clashes within the last two decades. Most recently in 2008 relations between Eritrea and Djibouti were driven to a point where war was imminent, but avoided without full-scale war. The Eritrean Army was also involved in the Second Sudanese Civil War during which the Eritrean government supported and organised various anti-Sudanese rebel groups. Most notably, the Eritrean military provided the SPLA rebels with weaponry, training, and intelligence. In some cases, the Eritreans even sent covert expeditionary forces into Sudan to directly fight alongside the insurgents against the Sudanese Armed Forces, for example in Operation Thunderbolt (1997). Furthermore, the Eritrean Army sent one of its battalions to fight in the First Congo War due to Eritrea's alliance with Rwanda at the time. The Eritreans took part in the entire campaign, fighting with the pro-AFDL alliance and covering over 1,500 km. According to the Horn of Africa journalist Martin Plaut, this was "an extraordinary feat, especially for soldiers who walked the entire distance in gumboots, with little or no logistical support". By the end of the war, the Eritrean contingent was starving, exhausted, and ill; it had suffered numerous casualties due to the adverse conditions of the country.