Thousands of people, most of them women and children, are maimed or killed every year by land mines, long after the fighting has stopped in such countries as Bosnia, Cambodia and Angola.

CNN: U.S. agrees to soften stance on land-mine ban

In Congo, it means half a dozen armies and dozens of militia groups fighting over the country's gold and diamond mines between 1998 and 2003, leaving perhaps 3m dead.

ECONOMIST: The poor: The mountain man and the surgeon | The

Heavy fighting has stopped, but skirmishes continue between armies dug in round honeypot centres, such as the diamond mines.

ECONOMIST: Split Congo, with peace treaties but no peace