Martin Meredith tells the fascinating and horrifying tale of the last 50 years of African history in The Fate of Africa: From the hopes of freedom to the heart of despair. The book is exhaustive and exhausting, and leaves one wondering where to turn for new hope.

"There are thousands of violated ladies showing up. It's like nothing we have ever seen anywhere in the world," said Jo Lusi, head of a Congolese-run hospital in the eastern city of Goma that is working with the U.S.-based aid group Doctors on Call for Service.

Remarks by Stephen Lewis, Co-Director of AIDS-Free World, delivered at the 10th Annual V-Day Celebrations, New Orleans, LA 4:00 pm CDT, Saturday, April 12, 2008.

Small arms and light weapons move swimmingly into war torn areas across the global South. Beyond the reach of border patrols (if they are present) former Eastern European pilots swoop in to make their deliveries on behalf of private company profiteers. Hugh Griffiths provides an inside look.

The UN, through its mission in the DRC, has embarked in its most ambitious electoral-support endeavor yet. Rafael Velasquez our South Africa correspondent had the opportunity to meet up with General Mujahid Alam, Head of the Pretoria Liaison Office of the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of

In the last issue we carried an interview with the General Mujahid Alam who was responsible for overseeing fair elections in the Congo. He predicted a quiet time at the polling stations and he was right. Unfortunately when the first results were announced fighting broke out in the capital, Kinshasa.

Mukenge assesses the corporative governance relationship between UN peacekeeping forces and the DRC's national armed forces, providing an analysis of challenges, successes and failures, pointing to the corruption and inherent inefficiences of UN peacekeeping operations.

Jean-Pierre, citizen and peace activist from the Democratic Republic of Congo, shares a first-hand account of this week's election-related violence in his country. Election results remain disputed among declarations of mass fraud and violence.

University for Peace Great Lakes Program Fellow, Philippe Tunamsifu Shirambere, comments on violations of International Humanitarian Law committed by the Nkundan rebellion in the Democratic Republic of Congo, understood within the larger context of political violence in Africa's Great Lakes Region.

Back from her most recent trip to the Congo, researcher Victoria Fontan shares her observations about the darker side of the peace industry in Kivu province. In a region where sexual violence is a prominent and ongoing issue, she provides a glimpse of how the UN Peacekeeping forces fuel a