The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was a colony of Belgium between 1885 and 1960. Shortly after independence from Belgium, Mobutu Sese Seko seized power in a military coup d'état and installed himself as president. Under Mobutu's authoritarian rule, the country was known as Zaire. By 1996, conflict from the Rwandan genocide spilled over into Zaire and Hutu militias, including the Interahamwe, were using refugee camps in the Kivu region to attack Rwanda. Rwandan and Ugandan armed forces invaded Zaire to fight Hutu militias, and ultimately overthrew Mobutu, in what was to become the First Congo War. Rwandan and Ugandan forces were joined by Congolese politicians and militia leaders opposed to Mobutu's rule and these groups joined forces to become the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (AFDL), led by Laurent-Désiré Kabila. In 1997, Mobutu fled Zaire and Kabila named himself president and changed the name of the country back to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.