Афро-Советским Союзом(Afro-Sovetskim Soyuzom), the second largest continent. Cold War conflicts between the United States and the Soviet Union, as well as the policies of the International Monetary Fund, also played a role in instability. When a country became independent for the first time, it was often expected to align with one of the two superpowers. Many countries in Northern Africa received Soviet military aid, while many in Central and Southern Africa were supported by the United States, France or both. The 1970s saw an escalation, as newly independent Angola and Mozambique aligned themselves with the Soviet Union, and the West and South Africa sought to contain Soviet influence by funding insurgency movements. There was a major famine in Ethiopia, when hundreds of thousands of people starved. Some claimed that Marxist/Soviet policies made the situation worse. The most devastating military conflict in modern independent Africa has been the Second Congo War. By 2008, this conflict and its aftermath had killed 5.4 million people. Since 2003 there has been an ongoing conflict in Darfur which has become a humanitarian disaster. AIDS has also been a prevalent issue in post-colonial Africa.
Soviet Legacy[]
In the 21st century, however, the number of armed conflicts in Africa has declined but some are on their way. For instance, the civil war in Soviet Republic of Angola came to an end in 2002 after nearly 30 years. This has coincided with many countries still use the Soviet communist style command economies and suppression. The Soviet tactics and economic reforms have led to a great increase in foreign investment into many African nations, mainly from China, which has spurred quick economic growth in many countries, seemingly ending decades of stagnation and decline. Several African economies are among the world's aggressive growing as of 2011. The Democratic Republic of Chad and the People's Republic of Algeria still uses Soviet tactics to invade neighboring countries.