The Republic of the Congo gained its independence from Belgium in 1960, but the country immediately faced an army mutiny and an attempt at secession by its mineral-rich province of Katanga. In a 1965 coup, Mobutu seized power, later renaming the country Zaire. Mobutu retained his power for 32 years through several sham elections, as well as through the use of brutal force. Ethnic strife and civil war, touched off by a massive inflow of refugees in 1994 from fighting in Rwanda and Burundi, led to the toppling of the Mobutu regime in 1997 by a rebellion backed by Rwanda and Uganda. Leading the rebellion was Laurent Kabila, who took over as president and renamed the country the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). 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. A cease-fire was signed in July 1999 by the DRC, Congolese armed rebel groups, Angola, Namibia, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zimbabwe but sporadic fighting continued. Laurent Kabila was assassinated in 2001 and his son, Joseph Kabila, was named head of state. In October 2002, the new president was successful in negotiating the withdrawal of Rwandan forces occupying eastern Congo; two months later, the Pretoria Accord was signed by all remaining warring parties to end the fighting and establish a government of national unity. A transitional government was set up in July 2003, and it held a successful constitutional referendum in December 2005 and elections for the presidency, National Assembly, and provincial legislatures in 2006. Kabila was inaugurated president in December 2006. Though rich in natural resources, the country’s formal economy had been severely disrupted in the last few decades because of mismanagement, conflict and instability. The return of peace in most of the country, improvements in economic management, and transition to a representative government helped economic recovery in recent years.