// BEGIN editorial data
 var i = 0;
var CongoTimeline081114 = new Array();
CongoTimeline081114.ID = "CongoTimeline081114";
CongoTimeline081114.ID_WB = 27719183;
CongoTimeline081114.sPubDate = "11/19/2008 9:08:18 PM GMT";
CongoTimeline081114.navsectionID = "3032506"
CongoTimeline081114.appFmt = 2;
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CongoTimeline081114.appWidth = 624;
CongoTimeline081114.appHeader = "Congo's tumultuous history in pictures ";
CongoTimeline081114.appDeck = "Click the labels at left to learn about the Democratic Republic of Congo’s chaotic history of dictatorship, violence and war. ";
CongoTimeline081114.appNavStyle = 3;
CongoTimeline081114.appLayout = 3;
CongoTimeline081114.copyHeight = 350;
CongoTimeline081114.copyWidth = 500;
CongoTimeline081114.copyMargin = 9;
CongoTimeline081114[i++] = new Array("","Intro ","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/MSNBC/Components/ArtAndPhoto-Fronts/WORLD_NEWS/081114/Congo_map.gif","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "Microsoft Virtual Earth", "273", "422", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
CongoTimeline081114[i-1].body = "The Democratic Republic of Congo, a vast nation about a quarter the size of the U.S. in the center of sub-Saharan Africa, is one of the continent’s most mineral-rich countries. But it also one of the world’s poorest countries and has been the site of near constant warfare over the last decade which has left over 5 million dead. A recent flare-up of violence between rebels and government forces has revived fears that it could slide back into all-out war again. Click through to learn more about its tumultuous history. ";

CongoTimeline081114[i++] = new Array("","King Leopold's reign of terror","King Leopold II of Belgium, seen here circa 1880.","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/congo-1908.vmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "left", "", "Hulton Archive/Getty Images", "298", "186", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
CongoTimeline081114[i-1].body = "1908 - Belgium annexes Congo as a colony. Millions are said to have been killed or worked to death during Belgian King Leopold II’s brutal rule. ";

CongoTimeline081114[i++] = new Array("","Independence from Belgium","Belgians leaving the Congo after independence is granted.","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/congo-1960.hmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "", "Terrence Spencer", "Time Life Pictures/Getty Images", "253", "423", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
CongoTimeline081114[i-1].body = "1960 - The Republic of Congo gains its independence from Belgium. The Belgians were initially reluctant to grant the colony independence and were hoping for a more long term transitional period of three to four years. But the Congolese insisted on immediate independence, and hoping to avoid the bloody experience of the French in Algeria, Belgium agreed to a swift transfer of power.  ";

CongoTimeline081114[i++] = new Array("","'Congo Crisis' ","Mercenaries of the Congolese 5th Army Brigade coming under rebel fire while en route to Stanleyville. ","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/congo-1960-1965.hmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "", "Priya Ramrakha", "Time Life Pictures/ Getty Images", "273", "403", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
CongoTimeline081114[i-1].body = "1960-65 - The era known as the “Congo Crisis” was a time of tumult for the fledgling nation as various parties jockeyed for power. Between a secessionist war with the province of Katanga, political disintegration that led to the assassination of Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba, and a United Nations peacekeeping mission that resulted in the death of the U.N. Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold in a plane crash as he sought to mediate the crisis, it was a period marked by chaos in the Congo.  ";

CongoTimeline081114[i++] = new Array("","Mobutu seizes power","Gen. Joseph D. Mobutu attending opening ceremonies of new military training camp in 1965.","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/congo-1965.vmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "left", "Terrence Spencer", "Time Life Pictures/Getty Images", "284", "198", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
CongoTimeline081114[i-1].body = "1965 - Col. Joseph Mobutu seizes power in a military coup and declares himself president. Mobutu had political and military support from Western countries – especially the U.S. – which saw him as a bulwark against communism on the continent. He declares a one-party state and bans all political opposition. ";

CongoTimeline081114[i++] = new Array("","'Zaire'","Mobutu Sese Seko in a photo taken on May 19, 1978.","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/congo-1971.vmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "left", "", "Getty Images", "261", "198", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
CongoTimeline081114[i-1].body = "1971 - Mobutu renames the country Zaire and himself Mobutu Sese Seko.  With his trademark leopard-print hat, Mobutu ruled Zaire with an iron fist for 32 years. By turning Zaire into a springboard for operations against Soviet-backed Angola, Mobutu put Zaire squarely on the American side of the Cold War proxy fight on the continent and curried favor with numerous U.S. presidents to ensure backing of his notoriously corrupt regime.  ";

CongoTimeline081114[i++] = new Array("","'Rumble in the Jungle'","1974 October - \"The Match of the Century \" between the former world heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali (R) and titleholder George Foreman (L). Ali won and got back his title October 30, 1974 in Kinshasa, Congo.","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/congo-1974.hmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "left", "", "Getty Images", "273", "272", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
CongoTimeline081114[i-1].body = "Congo hosted the historic boxing fight known as the “Rumble in the Jungle” between world heavyweight champion George Foreman and former world champion Muhammad Ali. ";

CongoTimeline081114[i++] = new Array("","Rwandan genocide","A girl walks past bodies wrapped in burlap at the Kibumba camp, near Goma, Zaire in 1994.","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/congo-1994.hmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "", "Malcolm Linton", "Getty Images", "273", "402", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
CongoTimeline081114[i-1].body = "1994 - Unrest from the genocide in Rwanda – when Rwanda’s Hutu majority slaughtered hundreds of thousands of the Tutsi minority – spills into Zaire. Many of the Hutu militia who were responsible for the massacre fled to refugee camps in eastern Congo after the killing spree. From there, the Hutu militants used the camps as bases to continue launching attacks against Tutsis in Rwanda. ";

CongoTimeline081114[i++] = new Array("","Rebel assault ","Over 800,000 refugees return to Rwanda in November, 1996.","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/congo-1996.hmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "", "Roger Lemoyne", "Getty Images", "273", "415", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
CongoTimeline081114[i-1].body = "1996 – Rwanda’s Tutsi-led government backs an attack by rebel leader Laurent Kabila into eastern Zaire in an attempt to dislodge the Hutu strongholds in the refugee camps there. ";

CongoTimeline081114[i++] = new Array("","Mobutu ousted","Anti-Mobutu mobs riot during the overthrow of Mobutu Sese Seko on May 18, 1997 in Kinshasa, Zaire.","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/congo-1997.hmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "", "Malcolm Linton", "Getty Images", "273", "405", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
CongoTimeline081114[i-1].body = "1997 – Congo’s longtime dictator Mobutu Sese Seko is forced into exile when Tutsi rebel leader Laurent Kabila and other anti-Mobutu forces capture the capital, Kinshasa. Kabila becomes president and renames Zaire the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). ";

CongoTimeline081114[i++] = new Array("","'Africa's first world war'","Two young members of the rebel forces  opposing the government forces of President Laurent Kabila hold guns in Goma on Aug. 22, 1998.","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/congo-1998.vmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "left", "Abdelhak Senna", "Getty Images", "145", "198", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
CongoTimeline081114[i-1].body = "1998 – Kabila breaks from his Rwandan backers. In response, Rwandan and Uganda forces sponsor another rebel assault on Kinshasa in an effort to oust Kabila. Zimbabwe, Namibia, and Angola forces get drawn into the fray in an attempt to defend Kabila – setting off regional turmoil that becomes known as “Africa’s first world war.” Millions of people are displaced and die as a result of the conflict. ";

CongoTimeline081114[i++] = new Array("","Lusaka accords ","Mobutu's ouster, President Laurent Kabila.","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/congo-2001.vmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "Stephen Ferry", "Getty Images", "132", "198", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
CongoTimeline081114[i-1].body = "1999 – The  six countries involved in war – Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Namibia, and Angola – sign a peace accord in Lusaka, Zambia. ";

CongoTimeline081114[i++] = new Array("","U.N. peacekeepers ","Residents of Kisangani cross the Tshopo bridge during July 2000 while U.N. peacekeepers look on.","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/congo-2000.vmedium.jpg","","Image: Asif Ali Zardari", "", "", "", "", "left", "Malcolm Linton", "Getty Images", "127", "198", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
CongoTimeline081114[i-1].body = "2000 – The U.N. Security Council authorizes a 5,500 strong peacekeeping force to monitor the ceasefire, but fighting continues between rebels and government forces.The U.N. peacekeeping mission known as MONUC is plagued with logistical problems and lack of clear goals in the protracted war in Congo.";

CongoTimeline081114[i++] = new Array("","President Joseph Kabila","Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila seen on July 9, 2001.","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/congo-2001b.vmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "Alexander Joe", "Getty Images", "298", "192", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
CongoTimeline081114[i-1].body = "2001 – President Laurent Kabila is assassinated by a bodyguard and his son Joseph Kabila becomes president of Congo.";

CongoTimeline081114[i++] = new Array("","Peace deal","DRC President Joseph Kabila, right, his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame, left, and South African President Thabo Mbeki in Pretoria, South Africa after brokering a peace deal to end the four year war.","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/congo-2002.vmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "Alexander Joe", "Getty Images", "109", "198", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
CongoTimeline081114[i-1].body = "2002 – Peace deal signed between DRC and Rwanda under which Rwanda agrees to withdraw troops in the east and DRC agrees to disarm and arrest the Rwandan Hutus who are blamed for killing the Tutsi minority in Rwanda’s 1994 genocide.";

CongoTimeline081114[i++] = new Array("","Democratic elections ","Voters show their electoral cards to a Congolese policeman in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, on July 30, 2006.","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/congo-2006.hmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "", "Marco Longari", "Getty Images", "273", "414", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
CongoTimeline081114[i-1].body = "2006 July – Congo holds its first democratic elections in four decades. There is no clear winner, so a run-off election is called between incumbent leader President Joseph Kabila and opposition candidate Jean-Pierre Bemba.";

CongoTimeline081114[i++] = new Array("","Official winner: Kabila","Joseph Kabila is greeted by EU Development and Humanitarian Aid Commissioner,Louis Michel after he being sworn in as the first democratically elected president of the DRC on Dec. 6, 2006.","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/congo-2006-nov.hmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "left", "Benoit Doppagne", "Getty Images", "273", "333", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
CongoTimeline081114[i-1].body = "2006 November – Joseph Kabila is declared the winner of a run-off presidential election that is deemed legitimate by international observers. ";

CongoTimeline081114[i++] = new Array("","Border clashes ","Congolese refugees cross into Uganda at the Bunagana border crossing on Dec. 7, 2006.","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/congo-2006-dec.hmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "", "Stuart Price", "Getty Images", "273", "373", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
CongoTimeline081114[i-1].body = "2006 December – Forces loyal to renegade Gen. Laurent Nkunda and the U.N.-backed army clash in North Kivu province, forcing 50,000 civilians to flee. The fighting is related to the lingering ethnic hatred over the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Nkunda says he is fighting to protect minority Tutsis from Rwandan Hutu militants who perpetrated the Rwandan genocide before fleeing into eastern Congo. ";

CongoTimeline081114[i++] = new Array("","Tensions escalate","Government troops walk along a hilltop in Kibumba, near Goma, Congo on Nov. 24, 2007.","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/congo-2007.hmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "", "Lionel Healing", "Getty Images", "262", "423", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
CongoTimeline081114[i-1].body = "2007 – Violence continues in eastern Congo. Aid agencies report an uptick in the number of refugees fleeing fighting in North Kivu – much of which is blamed on rebel leader Gen. Laurent Nkunda.";

CongoTimeline081114[i++] = new Array("","Peace with Nkunda?","","","","", "", "", "", "", "left", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "");
CongoTimeline081114[i-1].body = "2008 January – A peace agreement is signed between the Congolese government and rebel forces, including renegade Gen. Laurent Nkunda. ";

CongoTimeline081114[i++] = new Array("","Violence erupts,again","","","","", "", "", "", "", "left", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "");
CongoTimeline081114[i-1].body = "2008 August – Violent clashes erupt again in eastern Congo between government forces and fighters loyal to rebel leader Gen. Laurent Nkunda.  ";

CongoTimeline081114[i++] = new Array("","Flight of refugees ","People walk along the main road to Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo after fleeing fighting in Kibumba in this picture taken on Oct. 27, 2008.","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/congo-2008-nov.hmedium.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "", "Michael Arunga", "World Vision via Reuters", "272", "423", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
CongoTimeline081114[i-1].body = "2008 November – An estimated 250,000 civilians in the DRC have been driven from their homes as a result of the violence in eastern Congo. Many of the displaced are hungry and sick, and aid workers are struggling to contain an outbreak of cholera in the makeshift refugee camps near Goma, in eastern Congo. African and Western governments fears that the recent fighting in North Kivu, which borders Rwanda and Uganda, will draw in Congo’s other neighbors as it did during the previous war regional 1998-2003 which resulted in the deaths of millions. ";

CongoTimeline081114[i++] = new Array("","Sources","","","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "");
CongoTimeline081114[i-1].body = "Associated Press, Reuters, BBC News, New York Times, msnbc.com ";

	// END editorial data