Nov 25 (Reuters) - Democratic Republic of Congo, a vast minerals-rich Central African nation, is gearing up for Nov. 28 presidential and parliamentary elections that have been shrouded in concerns over logistical delays.
Here is a snapshot of the country&${esc.hash}39;s troubled last 50 years:
* ZAIRE:
- Congo became a byword for brutality under Belgian King Leopold II, who exploited it as his private fiefdom before handing it over the Belgian state. Independence came in 1960 and was followed by five years of bloodshed as the government fought a secession movement by the resource-rich Katanga region.
- Army chief Mobutu Sese Seko seized power in a 1965 coup and ruled until 1997, renaming the country Zaire. He amassed a huge personal fortune by plundering Congo&${esc.hash}39;s vast resources and was feted by superpowers as his country became mixed up in Cold War manoeuvring.
* THE KABILAS:
- Laurent Kabila ousted Mobutu in 1997 and changed the country&${esc.hash}39;s name from Zaire to Democratic Republic of Congo after a civil war. Another civil war followed, with factions sponsored by some of the country&${esc.hash}39;s neighbours competing for control of resource-rich territory. Laurent Kabila was shot dead by one of his bodyguards in 2001 and replaced by his son Joseph.
- Congo&${esc.hash}39;s last war officially ended in 2003 when the warring factions signed a deal creating an interim constitution and a transitional government. The five-year conflict had sucked in six African nations and killed some 5.4 million people, largely through hunger and disease. Localised violence, notably in the east, has continued ever since.
* 2006 ELECTIONS AND AFTER:
- Kabila won 2006 elections saying he would bring an end to 10 years of war and chaos. The 2006 vote was followed by several bouts of urban gun battles between his forces and those loyal to former rebel Jean-Pierre Bemba, defeated in a run-off vote.
- Despite support from the U.N.&${esc.hash}39;s biggest ever mission, the government has struggled against local and foreign rebel groups.
- In early 2009, Kabila allowed Uganda and Rwanda to send their armies into Congo to help hunt the Lord&${esc.hash}39;s Resistance Army of Uganda and Rwandan Hutu FDLR rebels. The operations resulted in high civilian casualties.
* CONGO&${esc.hash}39;S STILL TROUBLED EAST:
- Although open conflict with homegrown Tutsi-led rebels has ended, fighting has continued in the east against Rwandan Hutu rebels. Other rebels, including former pro-government Mai Mai militia, Lord&${esc.hash}39;s Resistance Army and Islamic ADF-NALU fighters, also still roam.
- Mass rapes and other abuses are an ever-present threat for locals in the east, raising doubts over the effectiveness of the Congolese army and the 17,000-strong U.N. peace force.
- Regular power cuts and bad transport links in the eastern region&${esc.hash}39;s biggest city, Goma, are proof to some that Kabila has also failed to deliver on promises to provide the vital infrastructure needed to grow the local economy.
* WHAT IS HAPPENING NOW:
- In Jan 2011 Kabila&${esc.hash}39;s chances of re-election were increased when parliament approved voting reforms, including a move to reduce the vote to a single round from two - meaning the next president can be elected without an absolute majority.
- Kabila is favourite to be re-elected in the vote, but his failure to tackle corruption and bring peace to the east has meant he cannot count on that area as a stronghold as before.
- The U.N. Security Council in June renewed the United Nations&${esc.hash}39; MONUSCO peacekeeping force&${esc.hash}39;s mandate until June 30, 2012 making it clear they would stay put until Kinshasa showed it could govern its turbulent east.
- In a 2011 report on Congo, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said some 1.738 million people remained displaced, including some 1.25 million in North and South Kivu. "The situation in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo remains fragile," Ban said. (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://africa.reuters.com/ ) (Reporting by David Cutler, London Editorial Reference Unit)
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