The five-year conflict pitted government forces, supported by Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe, against rebels backed by Uganda and Rwanda. But despite a peace deal and the formation of a transitional government in 2003, the threat of civil war remains.

OVERVIEW

The war claimed an estimated three million lives, either as a direct result of fighting or because of disease and malnutrition. It has been called possibly the worst emergency to unfold in Africa in recent decades.

The war had an economic as well as a political side. Fighting was fuelled by the country's vast mineral wealth, with all sides taking advantage of the anarchy to plunder its natural resources.

AT A GLANCE DR Congo is striving to recover from a five-year war; three million died, mostly through starvation, disease Former rebels have joined a power-sharing government Eastern regions are still plagued by militia violence General elections are planned for 2006

The history of DR Congo has been one of civil war and corruption. After independence in 1960, the country immediately faced an army mutiny and an attempt at secession by its mineral-rich province of Katanga.

A year later, its prime minister, Patrice Lumumba, was seized and killed by troops loyal to army chief Joseph Mobutu.

In 1965 Mobutu seized power, later renaming the country Zaire and himself Mobutu Sese Seko. He turned Zaire into a springboard for operations against Soviet-backed Angola and thereby ensured US backing. But he also made Zaire synonymous with corruption.

After the Cold War, Zaire ceased to be of interest to the US. Thus, when in 1997 neighbouring Rwanda invaded it to flush out extremist Hutu militias, it gave a boost to the anti-Mobutu rebels, who quickly captured the capital, Kinshasa, installed Laurent Kabila as president and renamed the country DR Congo.

Nonetheless, DR Congo's troubles continued. A rift between Kabila and his former allies sparked a new rebellion, backed by Rwanda and Uganda. Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe took Kabila's side, turning the country into a vast battleground.

Despite coup attempts and sporadic violence a fragile peace has held since the formal end of the war. But the Kinshasa government has no control over large parts of the country and tension remains high in the east.

FACTS

• Population: 56 million (UN, 2005)
• Capital: Kinshasa
• Area: 2.34 million sq km (905,354 sq miles)
• Major languages: French, Lingala, Kiswahili, Kikongo, Tshiluba
• Major religions: Christianity, Islam
• Life expectancy: 42 years (men), 44 years (women) (UN)
• Monetary unit: 1 Congolese franc = 100 centimes
• Main exports: Diamonds, copper, coffee, cobalt, crude oil
• GNI per capita: US $100 (World Bank, 2005)
• Internet domain: .cd
• International dialling code: +243

LEADERS

President: Joseph Kabila

Joseph Kabila heads an interim government, formed in June 2003, which includes members of former rebel groups, opposition politicans and Kabila loyalists.

Planned general elections - the first since independence from Belgium in 1960 - have been delayed and are expected to be held in 2006.

Joseph Kabila inherited a nation riven by civil war

Mr Kabila was barely 30 and a political novice when he became president in January 2001 following the murder of his father, Laurent.

He surprised diplomats and observers by declaring that he wanted to seek a peaceful end to his country's civil war and to introduce a multi-party democracy.

For many Congolese Joseph Kabila was an unknown quantity. Unlike his father, he was perceived to be shy, unassuming and quietly-spoken.

Mr Kabila fought in his father's rebel army during the military campaign that brought him to power. He went on to serve in the army as major-general and chief of staff, and headed the government forces in the fight against former rebel allies.

Joseph Kabila is the eldest of 10 children fathered by Laurent Kabila. He spent much of his early life in East Africa, where his dissident father lived in exile. He received military training in Rwanda and Uganda.

Former rebels and opposition:

DR Congo's largest former rebel groups are the Rally for Congolese Democracy (RCD) and the Movement for the Liberation of Congo (MLC). The RCD received backing from Rwanda while Uganda supported the MLC.

Under the terms of a peace deal signed in December 2002, both groups each received seven ministries in the interim government set up in June 2003.

There are many other rebel groups, usually ethnically-linked and with fluid political allegiances.

A government ruling in May 2001 allowed conventional political parties to operate, as long as they informed the government in writing that they intended to do so.

MEDIA

The Congolese media operate against a backdrop of political power struggles and sometimes-violent unrest.

Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders notes that media workers face arrest, threats and violence. Reporters exposing corruption are at particular risk from defamation charges.

Nonetheless, the press has been able to criticise government bodies, and some publications serve as mouthpieces for opposition parties.

There are several daily newspapers; many more publications appear sporadically. In addition, there are dozens of privately-run television stations and more than 100 private radio stations, some of which broadcast news.

Church radio networks are growing, but the state-controlled broadcasting network reaches the largest numbers of citizens.

The UN Mission in DR Congo (Monuc) and a Swiss-based organisation, Fondation Hirondelle, launched Radio Okapi in 2002. The network's mostly-Congolese staff broadcast news, music and information about Monuc activities. Radio Okapi aimed to become the only media outlet with national coverage and to enable dialogue across the political divides.

The BBC and Voice of America can be heard in Kinshasa via Raga FM. Kinshasa listeners can hear Radio France Internationale broadcasts from neighbouring Brazzaville.

The press