The last time Congo exploded in violence, civil war ravaged the country for five years, dragging six other African nations into the conflict and claiming the lives of 3.5 million people. Last year, the warring factions in what came to be known as the African World War reached a tenuous peace.

But recent unrest in the country’s mineral-rich eastern region threatens to escalate into full-blown war, drawing Congo’s neighboring nations into yet another bloody, costly conflict. The international community is getting uneasy, and earlier this week U.S. and British envoys paid Congo an emergency visit to try to quell the violence.

Click the “Listen” link to hear about the recent bloodshed in Congo, and the U.S. role in maintaining the peace.

Guests:

Duncan Woodside, freelance reporter based in Kigali, Rwanda, covering the Congo conflict for the Christian Science Monitor

John Shattuck, former U.S. assistant secretary of state for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, leader of a 2003 human rights delegation to Congo

Mvemba Phezo Dizolele, a native of Congo, former US Marine, former Voice of America broadcaster, former employee of US Embassy in Kinshasa

Judithe Registre, international development expert, Congolese director of Women for Women International