The DRC is a vast country with immense economic resources, but it has been at the center of what could be termed Africa's World War.

This has left it in the grip of a humanitarian crisis.

The five-year conflict pitted government forces, supported by Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe, against rebels backed by Uganda and Rwanda. A peace deal and the a transitional government was formed in 2003. Elections are set for mid 2006. 

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 natural resources.

 In 1997 neighboring Rwanda invaded the Congo 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. 

President: Joseph Kabila

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

Planned general elections - the first since independence from Belgium in 1960 - have been delayed and are expected to take place in July 2006. Mr. Kabila will run as an independent candidate; there are more than 30 presidential hopefuls.

Joseph Kabila was 30 years old and when he took office 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.