For the past ten months, Kasai, a deeply-impoverished region in central Democratic Republic of Congo, has been plagued by bloodshed that has killed over 3,000 people and forced 1.3 million to flee, exacerbating the country's political and economic crises. The unrest has its roots in dispute between a local traditional leader, known as the Kamwina Nsapu, and the government of President Joseph Kabila which began in early 2016.