Fact sheet: Violence in Congo
(CNN) -- The Democratic Republic of Congo is Africa's third-largest country.
It has been the scene of much suffering, caused by both war and starvation, since gaining independence from Belgium more than 40 years ago.
Most recently, a refugee crisis erupted due to fighting between members of the Hema minority and Lendu majority that started after last year's pullout of soldiers from neighboring Uganda.
The withdrawal was part of peace accord to end the five-year war that has led to the deaths of more than three million people -- mostly from disease and malnutrition.
The death toll figure comes from the International Rescue Committee, a New York-based nonprofit group that assists refugees.
France took the of a 1,700-member multinational force -- approved by the U.N. Security Council -- to work with U.N. peacekeepers there in an attempt to restore order.
The war began in August 1998 after Rwanda and Uganda sent troops in to the country to back Congolese rebels attempting to oust then-President Laurent Kabila.
Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia sent in troops to support Kabila. The foreign troops have all withdrawn.
Joseph Kabila was sworn in in January, 2001 as president of the Democratic Republic of Congo, taking the place of his assassinated father, Laurent Kabila.
