How to prevent another catastrophic regional war in Congo

Few partsUNUN of the world have suffered such prolonged misery as, a place that has been meddled in and fought over by its neighbours for decades. Since the 1990s it has been the in two major wars that sucked in troops from across the region. The deadliest of these, the second Congo war, led to the loss of 1m-5m lives, mostly from conflict-related disease and starvation. Now, with much of the world focused on crises elsewhere, there is the risk of a catastrophic third regional war being sparked in Congo—one that could possibly be averted but for the inattention of the West.Rwanda-backed rebels have surrounded Goma, the biggest city in the east and home to perhaps 2m people. In recent weeks or their proxies have fired an anti-aircraft missile at a drone and bombed Goma airport. They are almost certainly responsible for firing on a helicopter, killing a peacekeeper, and for the death of two South African soldiers in a mortar attack.