At a party hosted by one of Mobutu Sese Seko's crooked lieutenants, Michela Wrong failed to drain her glass of pink champagne swiftly enough.

ECONOMIST: Non-fiction

He could attract the followers of his fallen allies: Hutus from Rwanda, the late Mobutu Sese Seko's presidential guard from Congo, exiled supporters of Congo-Brazzaville's ex-President Pascal Lissouba.

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But Rwandan-backed rebels did take Kinshasa once before, in 1997, sweeping away the old dictator, Mobutu Sese Seko, and installing Mr Kabila's elephantine father, Laurent.

ECONOMIST: The UN may send more troops to Congo. Would they do any good?

The Mai Mai were set up in the late 1990's by Laurent Kabila, shortly after he overthrew President Mobutu Sese Seko.

NPR: Rogue Militia Terrorizes Southeast Congo

The first handover of money in Mr de Villepin's presence occurred in 1995, he said, involving 10m francs from the then Zairean President Mobutu Sese Seko.

BBC: Dominique de Villepin and Jacques Chirac in 2007