ABOUT THE DRC
The country after independence: 1960-1998
The Democratic Republic of Congo, then known as Zaire, gained independence from Belgium in June 1960. The head of the army, General Mobutu Sese Seko, came to power in a military coup in 1965 and remained largely unchallenged throughout the 1970s and 1980s.
Mobutu presided over endemic corruption and there were unsuccessful efforts to remove him from power in the early 1990s. The country was weakened after the 1994 genocide in neighboring Rwanda.
In 1996, dissident groups led by Laurent Kabila -- and strongly supported by Rwanda and Uganda -- rose in revolt. They entered the country's capital of Kinshasa in May 1997 and Kabila declared himself president.
Mobutu fled to Morocco and died soon afterward.
The second conflict: 1998-2003
Internal and external dissatisfaction with Kabila gradually grew until 1998, when a new rebel group -- again backed by Rwanda and Uganda -- formed and a second conflict broke out.
The fighting ultimately drew in six countries: the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Uganda, Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe.
By 1999, the front lines had stabilized, with three warring groups respectively controlling a third of the country. A cease-fire was signed in Lusaka, Zambia, in August of that year and the United Nations set up a peacekeeping force, known as MONUC, to implement the accord.
In January 2001, Kabila was assassinated by one of his bodyguards and his son, Joseph Kabila, took over. Under the younger Kabila, foreign forces gradually departed and the Congolese parties managed to reach an agreement for a transitional national government that included the three major belligerent groups, a number of smaller ex-rebel movements and representatives of civil society and the political opposition.
In May 2003, Uganda was the last of the foreign countries to withdraw its troops from Congo, allowing the new government accord to be put into force in June. It put an end to a five-year war that had cost between 3 and 4 million lives.
Continued problems after 2003
While the 2003 agreement officially put an end to the war, it did not end all fighting in eastern Congo, near the border with Uganda and Rwanda. Some of the factions in the area splintered, leading to fighting among different elements. Dissident commanders who did not agree with the transitional government process mounted rebellions.
Proxy armies set up by Uganda and Rwanda remained in the area and continued to arm militia groups, which fought among themselves and preyed on the civilian population. Indigenous Congolese fighters in some cases refused to accept their own government's authority.
Armed bandits also contribute to the violence, using weapons to extort money and goods from the local population.
More recent fighting between government forces and rebels has caused tens of thousands to flee their homes. The ongoing conflict and humanitarian crisis kills 45,000 people in Congo every month, according to a January 2008 report from the International Rescue Committee.
President Joseph Kabila retained his post after winning the presidential election in 2006.
The latest fighting: October-November 2008
On October 24, Congolese rebels led by renegade Tutsi General Laurent Nkunda launched a renewed bout of heavy fighting in the eastern province of North Kivu. It came days after a tenuous week-old U.N.-brokered cease-fire between rebels and government forces fell apart.
The fighting between Nkunda's rebels and Congolese army regulars displaced thousands of civilians almost immediately, the United Nations said. Many of the displaced fled to Goma, the capital of North Kivu, which borders Rwanda and Uganda.
Facts about the DRC
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has endured political and social turmoil since it was colonised by Belgium. In the troubles after independence Colonel Mobutu Sese Seko seized, and held onto, power for 32 years until he was deposed by Laurent Kabila's rebellion in 1997. The 1998 insurrection by rebels linked to Rwanda and Uganda triggered a war involving six other nations. The UN accused warring sides of prolonging the conflict as they looted natural resources.
The DRC is at the heart of the equatorial region of sub-Saharan Africa and includes 47% of the continent's forest. The Congo River and its tributaries form an economic lifeline due to the lack of decent roads. This vast country has huge deposits of diamonds, copper and coltan - important in the production of high-tech goods - and its forests are home to rare species of wildlife. Five national parks are listed by Unesco as World Heritage in Danger because of threats from conflict and mining. The parks' wildlife includes mountain gorillas, savannah giraffe and rare white rhino.
The population of 56 million is split into many ethnic groups who speak at least 210 languages - but mainly French, Lingala, Kiswahili, Kikongo and Tshiluba. The human toll of the fighting - often called Africa's 'First World War' - has been catastrophic, with more than four million dead since 1998. Around 1,200 people die each day as a direct or indirect result of the conflict - more than half of them children. Many have suffered horrific abuse, including rape and sexual slavery by armed groups. This situation has impoverished the nation and traumatised children. Today it is estimated that more than five million children are still not getting an education and more than six million children aged 12-17 years old have never set foot in a school.
The DRC's economy has been stifled by years of conflict and corruption. War has disrupted farming as well as trade and the country lacks the infrastructure to provide adequate food, clean water, healthcare and education. However, its mineral reserves mean it has the potential to be a wealthy country. The $870m diamond industry provides work for around one million people, but many diggers earn less than $1 a day in dangerous conditions. Between 1999 and 2001, DR Congo enjoyed a brief coltan boom, becoming the second largest producer of tantalum - used in mobile phones.
