It is hard to imagine a greater tragedy than that which has befallen the Democratic Republic of the Congo. One of the wealthiest countries in the world — in terms of natural resources — it has been governed by rapacious rulers and torn by conflict for most of its existence. Remarkably, the situation there only goes from bad to worse. In recent weeks, fighting has forced an estimated 1 million people from the homes, exposed the U.N.-supported peacekeeping force as ineffectual and could even lead to war between Congo and its neighbor, Rwanda. This situation must end; there is little reason to hope that it will.

Congo, then known as Zaire, suffered under the kleptocracy of President Mobutu Sese Seko for its first 35 years. After he was forced from office, the country endured civil war that ended with a ceasefire that has brought peace to much of Congo since it was agreed to in 2003. It is reckoned that some 3-4 million people died during the five years of conflict that forced Mobutu from office and continued through 2003.

While there was peace in much of the country, lawlessness continued in the east. Eight other governments supported rebel groups to increase their influence in Congo as well as to claim a stake in its abundant mineral riches and natural resources. Some human rights groups estimate that as many as 45,000 Congolese die each month as a direct result of the fighting or its consequences.

The current threat is posed by Laurent Nkunda, leader of a group of rebels who are fighting to defend the Tutsi in eastern Congo. Mr. Nkunda receives support from the government of Rwanda, Congo's neighbor. Rwanda backs Mr. Nkunda because many Hutus who massacred some 800,000 Rwandans during a week of hell in 1994 fled to the Congo forests after they were defeated by Tutsi rivals. They reconstituted their forces in Congo and have used that as a platform to launch attacks against the government in their home country.

Rwanda has twice invaded Congo to defeat the Hutu rebels, who call themselves the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR). Several agreements oblige the Congo government to disarm the FDLR, but it has done nothing; many observers believe the Congo army turns a blind eye to the FDLR and is actually working with the FDLR to exploit the region's mineral wealth. Those actions spurred the Rwandan government to back Mr. Nkunda.

Mr. Nkunda has become more ambitious. He says he no longer wants to just protect the Tutsi, but seeks to liberate all of Congo, even though his troops are still only in the eastern part of the country. His most recent offensive has decimated the Congo government forces, which quickly gave up and joined the estimated 1 million civilian refugees fleeing the fighting near the city of Goma, creating a humanitarian disaster of catastrophic proportions. The rebels have declared a unilateral ceasefire to allow aid to reach the refugees, but many aid organizations are reluctant to venture into the conflict zone.

The presence of a United Nations peacekeeping unit has had no impact. That should come as no surprise. Less than a third of the 17,000 troops in the unit are deployed to the conflict zone; Mr. Nkunda has about 10,000 fighters. MONUC (as the peacekeeping force is known) has a mandate to protect civilians, disarm rebels and police the buffer zones separating rebels and the government, a virtually impossible assignment no matter what the unit's size. The forces deployed are universally derided as not having the political preparations or even the language skills to do their job. And if that was not crippling enough, the military commander of the mission resigned last week for political reasons.

The political head of MONUC has asked the U.N. Security Council to dispatch 2,000 more troops, a request that was noted by the body. Two nonbinding resolutions have been passed to condemn the fighting but there is no motivation to put any teeth into them or to try to enforce them. European Union officials are contemplating the dispatch of 1,500 troops, but divisions within the EU make that unlikely. Mr. David Miliband, Britain's foreign minister, and his French counterpart Mr. Bernard Kouchner visited the region last weekend to assess the situation and see if they could mediate an agreement. Nothing came of that trip.

Congo is by most standards a failed state. Certainly, the central government has no control over the eastern part of the country. Competing rebel groups are fighting for the region's spoils. The Rwandan government has no desire to talk to the Hutu rebels who use the eastern Congo forests as a sanctuary, preferring to marginalize them within Rwanda and defeat them by force. That ensures that fighting will continue. Despite the slaughter of 800,000 people in a horrific genocide over a decade ago, and millions more forced to flee their homes, no outside power is prepared to spend its own blood and treasure trying to bring peace to this troubled land. Congo's many woes will continue.