Killings have continued in Kivu and Ituri regions in recent weeks. In Ituri thousands of civilians have been killed and tens of thousands forced to flee. Hundreds of thousands of people are now living in temporary “IDP” or internally displaced person camps. Since 1998 conservative estimates put the war dead at 3.3 million, with a similar number of refugees and internally displaced people. Armed groups have continually targeted civilians, especially those in rural areas. Raping and looting are commonplace in these military attacks. The DRC government along with the governments of Rwanda and Uganda are sponsoring this violence as a way of continuing the previous war and maintaining their economic presence in the region. Funding and arming of paramilitary groups goes hand in hand with dodgy joint ventures and mineral deals. The paramilitary groups supported by these 3 governments all use child soldiers, which in some regions constitute 50% of the total fighting force. The deployment of an emergency UN force in May 2003 has, says Amnesty International, calmed the situation down somewhat, but is not the answer. The UNs presence is only felt in a very limited geographical area and their mandate, such as it is, expires in September. Amnesty International fears that even a permanent UN presence in the area will fail to stabilize the situation. The underlying economic issues must be addressed and leaders of governments involved in this bloody business must be called to account. For more information or to sign the petition go to:  http://web.amnesty.org/pages/cod-040803-petition-eng