Much of the origins of the recent conflict in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo stems from the turmoil following the Rwandan genocide of 1994 , which then led to the Great Lakes refugee crisis . Within the largest refugee camps , beginning in Goma in Nord-Kivu , were Rwandan Hutu fighters , who were eventually organised into the Rassemblement Démocratique pour le Rwanda , who launched repeated attacks into Rwanda . Rwanda eventually backed Laurent-Désiré Kabila and his quickly organised Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo ( AFDL ) in invading Zaire , aiming to stop the attacks on Rwanda in the process of toppling Mobutu 's government . When the militias rebelled , backed by Rwanda , the FAZ , weakened as is noted above , proved incapable of mastering the situation and preventing the overthrow of Mobutu in 1997 . Elements of the Mobutu-loyal FAZ managed to retreat into northern Congo , and from there into Sudan while attempting to escape the AFDL . Allying themselves with the Sudanese government which was fighting its own civil war at the time , these FAZ troops were destroyed by the Sudan People 's Liberation Army during Operation Thunderbolt near Yei in March 1997
Rwandan genocide
Rwandan genocide
Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo