VICE TRAVEL: Republic of the Congo

<p> <br /><b>The VICE Guide To Travel: Republic of the Congo</b> <br /><br /><i>JURASSIC JUNGLE</i> <br /><br />Civil wars and militia conflicts have plagued the Republic of Congo in its recent past and the country is struggling to build on a peace accord signed with southern rebels in 2003. <br /><br />After three coup-ridden but relatively peaceful decades of independence, the former French colony experienced the first of two destructive bouts of fighting when disputed parliamentary elections in 1993 led to bloody, ethnically-based fighting between pro-government forces and the opposition. <br /><br />Remnants of the civil war militias, known as Ninjas, are still active in the southern Pool region. Most of them have yet to disarm and many have turned to banditry. <br />Congo is one of sub-Saharan Africa's main oil producers. <br /><br />The resource is the mainstay of the economy and the country has tried to increase financial transparency in the sector. <br /><br /><b><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.viceland.com/guidetotravel">www.viceland.com/guidetotravel</a></b> <br /></p>