Books Africa's World War: Congo, the Rwandan Genocide, and the Making of a Continental Catastrophe Reprint Edition by Gerard Prunier (Author)

"Africa's World War: Congo, the Rwandan Genocide, and the Making of a Continental Catastrophe" by Gérard Prunier is a comprehensive non-fiction book that explores the complex and devastating conflicts in Central Africa following the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Prunier traces the aftermath of the genocide where around two million Rwandan refugees fled to Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo). Subsequently, the new Rwandan regime invaded refugee camps, killing hundreds of thousands and overthrowing Zaire's long-time dictator, Mobutu. The fall of Mobutu led to a power vacuum and a wider war involving Rwanda, Uganda, Angola, Zimbabwe, Sudan, and other African nations, known as the Second Congo War. This conflict became the deadliest in Africa's history, resulting in millions of deaths through warfare, disease, and starvation.

Prunier presents the war as a continental catastrophe with significant involvement and interference from various African and Western powers. He critiques the international community's lack of response to the crisis and paints a grim picture of the local combatants and warlords, describing them as "vampires" who looted civilian populations. The book is noted for its detailed narrative and critical stance on the political dynamics in Rwanda and Congo, including the war crimes and attempts at ethnic dictatorship by the Rwandan Patriotic Front.