There is perhaps too much of Congo to go around in land, in diamonds, coffee and gold and that is one reason for its unending strife. In less than three years under Mr. Kabila's erratic rule, which ended on Tuesday if reports of his death are true, a nation the size of Western Europe became the battleground for what is often called Africa's First World War. Since August 1998, soldiers from as many as nine African nations have engaged in Congo, all fighting more for self-interest than out of any concern for the 50 million people of Congo. In the process, the heart of Africa has become even more chaotic than it was under three decades of misrule under Mr. Kabila's predecessor, Mobutu Sese Seko. As many as two million people have been displaced by war, many of them as fighting intensified in recent months.
Massacres are frequent, and malnutrition is chronic.
Ethnic conflict has flared up. And the war has effectively split Congo in half, with Mr. Kabila and his allies controlling the west and south, and the rebels and their allies controlling the north and east. Many experts believe that Congo is fragmenting further into violent spheres of interest governed by whatever leaders have the firepower to stay on top. The territorial integrity of the Congo is threatened, as will be the stability of its nine neighbors if the chaos continues. For a century and a half, the outside world's image of Africa has been shaped in many ways by Congo.