First Congo War ( 1996 – 1997 ) , also nicknamed Africa 's First World War , was a civil war and international military conflict which mostly took place in Zaire ( present-day DR Congo ) , with major spillovers into Sudan and Uganda . The conflict culminated in a foreign invasion that replaced Zairean President Mobutu Sese Seko with the rebel leader Laurent-Désiré Kabila . Following years of internal strife , dictatorship and economic decline , Zaire was a dying state by 1996 . The eastern parts of the country had been destabilized due to the Rwandan genocide and other regional conflicts , and in many areas state authority had already collapsed , with infighting militias , warlords , and rebel groups ( some allies , other enemies of Mobutu ) in power . The population of Zaire had become restless and resentful of the inept and corrupt regime , whose military was in a catastrophic condition , while President Mobutu was terminally ill and no longer able to keep the different factions in his government under control . Furthermore , most neighboring states had become enemies , while Mobutu 's international support had almost completely eroded
Rwandan genocide
Rwandan genocide
First Congo War