Part 3/10:
The impact of the war was horrifying, with an estimated 5.4 million deaths, most not from combat but from diseases and starvation exacerbated by the conflict. Infrastructure in the DRC was decimated, leading to a humanitarian crisis marked by displacements, chronic shortages of food and medical supplies, and widespread violence against civilians, including ethnic massacres and weaponized sexual violence. Many children were forcibly recruited as soldiers, facing brutal indoctrination and often tragic fates.