 At the start of the war , the population of the Congo numbered approximately 12 million black people and 30 @,@ 000 whites . The colonial government segregated the population along racial lines and there was very little mixing between the colours . The white population was highly urbanized and , in Léopoldville , the capital , lived in a quarter of the city separated from the black majority . All blacks in the city had to adhere to a curfew . 
