It is nearly impossible to conceive of a more intractable conflict than that which perpetually wracks the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The myriad Khartoum-inspired nightmares in the Sudan come close, as does the stateless chaos in Somalia. But for a textbook case of genocidal early colonialism, general colonial misrule, Big Man Cold War clientelism, post-Cold War teetering Big Man ruthlessness, and post-Big Man anarchy, go to Congo-Kinshasa.
Fighting in and around Goma continues apace even as African, Western, and United Nations leaders meet in Nairobi to try to address the crisis. At least twenty civilians have been killed in the latest round of fighting, which threatens to revive full-fledged civil war and international instability in the most unstable region on the continent. And the most frustrating aspect of the escalating conflict is that as with any tragedy, we can see it coming and have no idea how to stop it.
