UNITED NATIONS, march 10 (Reuters) - The United Nations is asking rich nations to help raise $59 million to support refugees who have fled clashes in the cobalt-rich Democratic Republic of Congo.

Thousands of Congolese have fled fighting in the northern province of Equateur and taken refuge in neighboring Congo Republic, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, which has assisted refugees from the outset of the crisis, the United Nations said

on Tuesday in a statement.

"But they have very limited resources and a small population, over half of whom subsist on $1.25 per day," said John Holmes, the U.N. humanitarian affairs chief. "Significant support is therefore required from the international community."

The clashes originated in inter-communal disputes over farming and fishing rights, the United Nations said.

The U.N.'s biggest peacekeeping mission is in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a former Belgian colony. It has been in the country since 1999 to help the government as it struggles to reestablish control over the vast central African nation.

A 1998-2003 war and the ensuing humanitarian disaster have killed an estimated 5.4 million people in the country.

United Nations said last week it could begin withdrawing troops from Congo as early as June, around the 50th anniversary of the country's independence.

Home to the world's biggest reserves of cobalt -- used in batteries, ceramics and dyes -- the Democratic Republic of Congo has gold, silver and diamond mines. It also has some of the world's largest stores of copper, tin and metals such as tungsten and coltan, a component of many mobile phones.