In advance of landmark elections in July 2006, the UN attempted to clear militia forces of Cobra Matata from the lawless Ituri district. Much of this job fell on the shoulders of Colonel Joseph Tyhalisi, whose South African peacekeepers engaged in months of fighting before bringing Cobra down from his holdout in the hills of Tchei. However, this fighting between government, UN, and militia forces caused tens of thousands to flee their homes and relocate to squalid displaced camps, such as the one in Gety. For interviews in these camps, and assistance navigating the treacherous roads of Ituri, I relied upon the ace fixer and translator Pastor Marrion P'Udongo.

In the end, Cobra agreed to negotiate and elections were held in peace. Even in Gety, where up to twenty children were dying each day from diarrhea and malnutrition, the grip of death briefly lifted and allowed in some light (see video above).

The election ended in a tie between incumbent President Joseph Kabila and Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba, a popular rebel leader during the war. The evening election results were announced, forces loyal to these two men battled in the streets of Kinshasa in some of the heaviest fighting I'd seen since 2003.