DR Congo: The crime behind the chaos

The Democratic Republic of Congo should be one of the wealthiest countries in the world.

The BBC's Africa Editor Fergal Keane looks at what went wrong, calling it "the greatest single example in history of how predatory elites rip off millions of people and get away with it".

Some quick facts from his report:

DR Congo has $24 trillion (£18 trillion) in mineral wealth

That's from gold, diamonds, copper, uranium, cobalt and coltan

But 70% of the population lives below the poverty line

King Leopold of Belgium's plunder of DR Congo caused 10 million deaths

Belgium and the CIA ordered independence leader Patrice Lumumba's murder

President Mobutu, kept in power by the West, stole half of the country's aid revenue

Rwanda and Uganda sponsored a rebellion to overthrow Mobutu

Both nations installed the Kabila family in power

5 million died in a decade of war over territory and resources

The conflict involved nine African nations and numerous rebel groups

The milennial tech boom fuelled demand for Congolese coltan

Rights groups allege $750m in mining revenue has been stolen during President Joseph Kabila's rule

He has stayed in power beyond the constitution's two-term limit

Protesters have nonetheless become emboldened in their calls for free elections.