Zimbabwe's secret war in the DRC

Two years after Zimbabwean troops returned from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Zimbabwe's public remains largely unaware of the activities of the mission.

The government has kept a tight lid on information about the controversial deployment, which was allegedly carried out to prevent Congolese President Laurent Kabila from being ousted by rebels. Kabila's son, Joseph, has since succeeded his father as head of state.

Getting combatants to share their battle stories is also no easy feat.

But in unguarded moments, some of them reveal how it feels to be in the Congolese rainforest, encircled by Ugandan and Rwandan-backed rebels. The conversation lightens when it turns to the subject of Congolese women. Scores of Ugandan soldiers are said to have married Congolese women by the time they were withdrawn in terms of various peace agreements signed in 2002.

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