The
First Congo War (1996–1997) was a foreign invasion of
Zaire led by
Rwanda that replaced dictator
Mobutu Sésé Seko with the rebel leader
Laurent-Désiré Kabila. Destabilization in eastern Zaire resulting from the
Rwandan Genocide was the final factor that caused numerous internal and external factors to align against the corrupt and inept government in the capital,
Kinshasa.