lie; he Nett; Uork Filmes February 6, 2000 CHAOS IN CONGO: A primer.; Many Armies Ravage Rich Land In the 'First World War' of Africa By Ian Fisher, Norimitsu Onishi, Rachel L Swarns, Blaine Harden and Alan Cowell, and written by Mr. Fisher and Mr. Onlshi. KINSHASA, Congo— Congo and the nine nations around it sit on what may be the richest patch of this planet: there are diamonds, oil, uranium, gold, plentiful water, fertile land and exquisite wildlife. It is now also one of the biggest battlefields in Africa's history, the object of a conflict that has been dubbed "Africa's first world war." Six outside states are fighting inside Congo alone, with at least 35,000 soldiers, men and boys, battling for a bewildering number of reasons. Some armies are allied with rebel groups to oust President Laurent Kabila of Congo. Others are protecting him. Nine rebel groups in Congo are fighting to overthrow governments in neighboring countries. Nearly everyone carts off Congo's riches. These conflicts are a series of related wars, fueled by ethnic conflict, by a scramble for power and riches among people with very little of either, and by leaders with little idea of responsibility for those people. Rooted in the Rwandan genocide of 1994, the fighting has smoldered inconclusively for 18 months; in that time rebels and invading armies have expanded their reach to half of Congo's vast expanse, but the war remains largely a stalemate. Neither Mr. Kabila nor the rebels have strong support in the population. The foreign armies on both sides have been reluctant to commit their men to all-out battles that could explode into even greater warfare, perhaps beyond Congo. Now, into this chaos, the United Nations is considering the deployment of the oddly precise number of 5,537 troops to monitor a cease-fire signed last summer, but violated with impunity by all sides ever since. In late January, seven African presidents met at the United Nations in New York for a speci