Since independence from Belgium in 1962, Burundi has been plagued by tensions between the dominant Tutsi minority and the Hutu majority. Burundi's first democratically elected president was assassinated in October 1993 after only 100 days in office, triggering widespread ethnic violence between Hutu and Tutsi factions. The country was then plunged into civil war, in which tens of thousands of people were killed and hundreds of thousands were displaced. An internationally brokered power-sharing agreement between the Tutsi-dominated government and the Hutu rebels in 2003 paved the way for a transition process that led to an integrated defense force, established a new constitution in 2005, and elected a majority Hutu government in 2005. In September 2006, the new government led by President Pierre Nkurunziza signed a peace agreement with the country's last active rebel group, the Forces for National Liberation (FNL), and a ceasefire agreement was signed between the government and FNL in May 2008. Landlocked with limited resources and situated in Sub-Saharan Africa, Burundi is among the poorest countries in the world. More than a decade of civil conflict had a significant impact on the country’s economy. However, Burundi has made steady progress in its macroeconomic performance in recent years supported by the international community despite a difficult environment. Based on that progress, the World Bank and the IMF approved debt relief for Burundi under the MDRI (Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative) in January 2009.