It will also require steps to reverse the downward trend in international aid and to address the continent's crushing debt burden. But the size and pace of the relief still falls short of what is needed. African and international NGOs and churches will continue to work for greater debt reductions in 1998. Ongoing Conflicts Fighting continues in Sudan, Algeria, and the Great Lakes region, with little prospect of resolution during the year. These wars have caused casualties in large numbers and have had crippling economic effects.
More limited conflicts afflict other countries, including Uganda and Senegal.
Peace agreements being implemented in Angola, Sierra Leone, and the Central African Republic are fragile and incomplete. Sassou-Nguesso has promised a transition to civilian rule, but so far the stability of his government is based on military victory, not legitimacy. In Burundi, neither sanctions by regional states nor attempts at mediation have diminished the conflict between the Tutsi-dominated military regime and Hutu rebel forces. Regional observers also see increasing signs of coordination among extremist Hutu forces and their allies in attacks in Burundi, Rwanda and eastern Congo. These forces were responsible for the genocide against Tutsis and moderate Hutus in Rwanda in 1994 and they still openly advocate the extermination of the remaining Tutsis.