Congo 1960/68

Shortly after the chaotic dissolution of the Belgian Congo, President Moise Tshombe proclaimed Katanga, one of the territory's wealthiest provinces which had accounted for nearly fifty per cent of Congolese revenues, an independent and autonomous nation. According to Tshombe and his officials at the time, this action was taken to secede from chaos and because the current regime under Prime Minister Lumumba was following a Communist line. The Katangan government went on to appeal for Belgian military aid to support their unilateral declaration of independence. Tshome was also seeking support and recognition from the United S Shortly after the chaotic dissolution of the Belgian Congo, President Moise Tshombe proclaimed Katanga, one of the territory's wealthiest provinces which had accounted for nearly fifty per cent of Congolese revenues, an independent and autonomous nation. According to Tshombe and his officials at the time, this action was taken to secede from chaos and because the current regime under Prime Minister Lumumba was following a Communist line. The Katangan government went on to appeal for Belgian military aid to support their unilateral declaration of independence. Tshome was also seeking support and recognition from the United States for his cause, as he felt that they shared a common concern for possible exploitation of the Congo Crisis by the Soviet Union.

A common myth in 1961 among the United Nations in general was that Katanga was an expression of indigenous nationalist sentiment. However, this was true only in part. The political leaders of the northern districts in the province were actively opposed to independence, and the Katangan population never directly consulted on the matter. In reality, secession proved to be a strategy designed to preserve the comparative wealth of Katanga and stability of the region in general. Maintaining support of the European-descended white settler elite was also a priority of President Tshombe, as they possessed much-needed professional skills and an exodus of such people in the face of anarchy or Communist rule would likely prove fatal to their homeland's industry.

Within a week of Katanga's UDI, Prime Minister Lumumba sent a telegram to the Secretary-General of the UN, insisting that something be done about "Belgium's military aggression" in his country and their overt backing of Katangan secession. Lumumba solicited "urgent military assistance" due to the central government in Leopoldville's inability to maintain order in the massive country. He went on to blame post-independence Belgian intrigues for the present crisis. Inside the United Nations itself, feelings towards Katanga was generally mixed. Britain and France remained neutral, the latter quietly hostile towards the very idea of peacekeeping in Congo. The British initially provided general assistance to the UN troops who were eventually dispatched, but refused to cooperate with subsequent efforts to deal with Tshombe's rebellious regime. Portugal and the Union of South Africa were openly hostile towards the operation from its very conception, and maintained consistent opposition against any interference with the Katanga state.

A common myth in 1961 among the United Nations in general was that Katanga was an expression of indigenous nationalist sentiment. However, this was true only in part. The political leaders of the northern districts in the province were actively opposed to independence, and the Katangan population never directly consulted on the matter. In reality, secession proved to be a strategy designed to preserve the comparative wealth of Katanga and stability of the region in general. Maintaining support of the European-descended white settler elite was also a priority of President Tshombe, as they possessed much-needed professional skills and an exodus of such people in the face of anarchy or Communist rule would likely prove fatal to their homeland's industry.

Within a week of Katanga's UDI, Prime Minister Lumumba sent a telegram to the Secretary-General of the UN, insisting that something be done about "Belgium's military aggression" in his country and their overt backing of Katangan secession. Lumumba solicited "urgent military assistance" due to the central government in Leopoldville's inability to maintain order in the massive country. He went on to blame post-independence Belgian intrigues for the present crisis. Inside the United Nations itself, feelings towards Katanga was generally mixed. Britain and France remained neutral, the latter quietly hostile towards the very idea of peacekeeping in Congo. The British initially provided general assistance to the UN troops who were eventually dispatched, but refused to cooperate with subsequent efforts to deal with Tshombe's rebellious regime. Portugal and the Union of South Africa were openly hostile towards the operation from its very conception, and maintained consistent opposition against any interference with the Katanga state.

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On 14 July 1960, in response to requests by Prime Minister Lumumba, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 143. This called upon Belgium to remove its military personnel from the Congo, especially in the case of Katanga, and for the UN to provide 'military assistance' to the Congolese forces to allow them 'to meet fully their tasks'. Lumumba demanded that Belgium remove its troops immediately, threatening to seek help from the Soviet Union if they did not leave within two days. The UN reacted quickly and established United Nations Operation in the Congo (ONUC). The first UN troops arrived the next day but there was instant disagreement between Lumumba and the UN over the new force's mandate. Because the Congolese army had been in disarray, Lumumba wanted to use the UN peacekeepers to subdue Katanga by force.  Referring to the resolution, Lumumba wrote to UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjöld, ‘From these texts it is clear that, contrary to your personal interpretation, the UN force may be used to subdue the rebel government of Katanga.’ ONUC refused. To Hammarskjöld, the secession of Katanga was an internal Congolese matter and the UN was forbidden to intervene by Article 2 of the United Nations Charter.

Disagreements over what the UN force could and could not do continued throughout its deployment, despite the passage of two further Security Council resolutions. Passed on 22 July, Security Council Resolution 145 affirmed that Congo should be a unitary state and strengthened the call for Belgium to withdraw its forces. On 9 August, Security Council Resolution 146 mentioned Katanga for the first time, and explicitly allowed UN forces to enter Katanga whilst forbidding their use to 'intervene in or influence the outcome of any internal conflict.'

A subject of much controversy was Belgium's involvement with Katanga. Brussels had neither inspired or engineered Moise Tshombe's scheme of Katangan secession, but provided technical, financial, and military aid in order to keep Katanga stable in terms of public order and domestic security. The Belgians went on to advise the ONUC force against unnecessary interventions against the state, as it would only "risk increasing the confusion." At the same time, Pierre Wigny, the Foreign Minister, informed the United States, France, and Britain that his government was opposed to Tshombe's intrigues and was concerned that long-term separation would compromise Congo's economic vitality. Despite the fact that most of Belgium's military personnel were withdrawn from Katanga in September 1960, over two hundred stayed on, making horizontal career shifts into roles as paid mercenaries serving with the nation's Gendarmes. As late as 1963, several of these soldiers of fortune were still at large, having shed their military uniforms for civilian dress. Other notable Belgian nationals who stayed on included political advisers and some diplomatic ministers. Upon the arrival of United Nations forces in the Congo, they were opposed to allowing ONUC freedom of movement in Katanga and insisted upon obstructing the peacekeeping effort. This view was generally strengthened with President Tshombe himself as time advanced, especially with increasingly vocal demands from Leopoldville that the UN use their military advantage to forcibly remove his regime from power. The Security Council, however, only reaffirmed that the ONUC would not be party to any internal disputes but would enter Katanga to assist with keeping the peace. The first such personnel, largely Swedish forces, entered Élisabethville, the Katangan capital city, on August 12, 1960.

All of this only frustrated the Congolese government, which, on August 27, launched a poorly-organized, ill-fated, incursion into Katanga with ANC soldiers trucked into the province on a motley assortment of Soviet military vehicles. It was unclear what the subsequent rampage attempted to accomplish, but the attackers, who were busily raping and murdering their way through the countryside, were quickly driven off by the European-officered Katangan Army. This incident would only lead to the further deterioration of relations between the two governments; sporadic clashes would continue for the next two years.

Only shortly afterwards, Patrice Lumumba was replaced in a coup d'état by Joseph Mobutu. On 17 January 1961 Mobutu sent Lumumba to Élisabethville where he was tortured and executed shortly after arrival.

The United Nations Security Council met in the wake of Lumumba's death in a highly emotional atmosphere charged with anti-colonial feeling and rhetoric. On 21 February 1961 the Council adopted resolution 161, which authorised 'all appropriate measures' to 'prevent the occurrence of civil war in the Congo, including '... the use of force, if necessary, in the last resort'. This resolution demanded the expulsion from the Congo of all Belgian troops and foreign mercenaries, but did not explicitly mandate the UN to conduct offensive operations. However, it was ultimately interpreted by the local UN forces to justify military operations in ending the secession of Katanga. Despite the resolution, during the next six months the UN undertook no major military operations, concentrating instead on facilitating several rounds of political negotiations. However, many sources on location claimed that UN personnel initiated and maintained a high degree of violence and were both overtly and indirectly responsible for hundreds if not even thousands of civilian deaths.

From late 1960 onwards, Katanga was characterised by a series of clashes between pro-Tshombe loyalists and their fellow countrymen, Baluba tribesmen, whose political leaders were nominally allied to Leopoldville and opposed Katangan secession. Smaller battles were fought against ANC units attacking from other provinces, as well. Sparsely deployed and on many occasions even outgunned by both sides, UN forces had an almost hopeless task of attempting to prevent outright civil war. Anticipating the need for continued ONUC presence in the state, the Security Council authorized an increased presence in Élisabethville. By mid 1961, however, presidential security forces had killed almost 7,000 Balubas. Factional strife also began to engulf the struggling regime. Increased numbers of peacekeepers only enraged the Baluba people, who viewed the United Nations as an unwanted intruder and began attacking both Katangan and UN soldiers with little discrimination.

In February 1961, attempting to bolster his position in Katanga, Moise Tshombe began importing more and more foreign mercenaries from neighboring states to assist his Gendarmes. The "Mercenary Problem", as the international community termed it, was a major concern of the ONUC. The Katangan Army was already staffed by Belgian officers, and white volunteers of Belgian extract constituted about one hundred and seventeen men under Tshombe's direction. Although from January to February 1961, gestures were made to remove these 'illegal combatants' from the Congo, their places were quickly taken by a sizable force of close to five hundred British, Rhodesian, French, and South African irregulars. Many of them were given command assignments in the Gendarmes, while others formed a pro-Tshombe unit known as the "International Company", composed chiefly of white South African fighters.

Especially notable among the French mercenaries were professional career soldiers who had fought in the Algerian War. Several in particular were the heads of a paracommando training program in Katanga. On March 30, one of the first public reports mentioning large contingents of foreign soldiers claimed that the mercenaries in Katanga included "Belgians, Italians, and 100 South Africans". Serious fighting soon broke out as President Tshombe began to incite both Katangan civilians and white mercenaries to attack UN forces after the ONUC dispatched elements of a nearly 5,000 man-strong Indian brigade into the capital. On April 5, 1961, the Secretary-General criticised Belgian mercenaries for their service in Katanga and condemned Tshombe for turning the Katangan public against the United Nations Force. Hostilities broke out again just three days later, when Belgian and South African Gendarmes assaulted Kabalo, a Baluba town in northern Katanga, and engaged the Ethiopian peacekeepers stationed there. In the battle that followed, at least thirty mercenaries were disarmed and captured. It was not until April 30 that the State of Katanga agreed to cease hostilities against the ONUC.

In June, President Tshombe was arrested after attending the Coquilhatville Conference of Congo Leaders by Joseph Mobutu's police, the day he was about to board a plane back to his country. He was held under house arrest and charged with inciting revolt against the Congolese government, the illegal seizure of arms and aircraft, and printing counterfeit money by issuing a Katangan currency. Tshombe subsequently signed a pledge to reunite Katanga with rest of the nation, and was released accordingly. However, by August it was clear he had no intention of implementing this agreement. Tshombe openly declared in a speech that month that he would defend Katanga's rights as a sovereign state and would do everything to maintain this status quo even in the face of all opposition.

In August and September, the UN conducted two operations to arrest and repatriate mercenary soldiers and the Belgian political advisers from Katanga by military force, deeming that such foreigners were the backbone behind the regime. The first operation was carried out by Indian UNF troops, who began rounding up mercenaries at five in the morning, culminating in the bloodless capture of nearly four hundred men. Not a single shot had been fired. Although Belgium's consul in Katanga was ordered to deport the remaining Belgian nationals, including political advisers, he countered that he could only exercise legal authority over those who were official staff affiliated with his nation's government or military.

Altogether, about three hundred of those captured were expelled from Congo, although several of the mercenaries later returned. White Katangans especially resented this action by the UN. Tshombe was taken by surprise, and tensions escalated rapidly. On September 11, the UNF further demanded that all foreigners serving as police officers in Katanga be expelled, but the president did not comply. Any chances of negotiation for the peaceful removal of remaining foreign players was quickly crushed by the revelation that some UN personnel had been planning to aid in a conspiracy to remove Tshombe from power, seize the radio station in Élisabethville, and apprehend his Gendarmes. The Katangans quickly unearthed the plot, and when Tshome confronted the UN with his charges it was revealed, much to the latter's embarrassment, that these allegations were based on fairly solid evidence. If such an incident had been allowed to take place, it would clearly have been considered a violation of the ONUC's vows to remain neutral in internal issues besides taking proper action to prevent a major conflict. The following day, hostilities reopened after some Irish soldiers protecting civilians in Jadotville were surrounded by a superior force of Gendarmes, including many Europeans. Despite suffering several attacks launched by Katanga's mercenary-piloted Air Force in support of the Gendarme unit, the troopers refused to surrender and were resupplied with fresh ammunition by UN helicopters.

No longer able to take the increasing violence in Katanga, the ONUC commanders finally agreed to a new plan which would remove the Katangan government from power. It called for UNF troops to apprehend mercenaries, seize post offices and radio stations in Élisabethville, and send a representative from the central Congolese government to take command. This attempt was not at all bloodless. It was in fact resisted by the Gendarmes and their mercenary allies. The initial UN initiative to take over the post offices was efficiently repulsed. Later that day, Katangan soldiers launched a coordinated attack on ONUC forces. An eight-day battle was waged in the city for over a week, resulting in the deaths of eleven UN personnel. One company of Irish staff, the same which had previously fought at Jadotville, were captured. Tshombe's army enjoyed unchallenged air power, and the tiny Katangan Air Force carried out successful strafing and bombing runs on UN positions entrenched in Jadotville, Élisabethville, and Kamina.

The dismal failure of the UNF could also be attributed to inferior equipment. While the Gendarmes were armed with modern Belgian rifles, heavy machine guns, mortars, and armored cars, the vast majority of UN troopers used antiquated rifles and World War II-era vehicles plated with only makeshift protection. During the fighting, the Katangan authorities offered a conditional ceasefire, which was immediately rejected by the ONUC. Eventually, it soon became clear that any objective to depose Moise Tshombe had failed. The British, Belgian, and French governments became especially critical of 'peacekeeping operations' in Congo which would involve such interference in domestic affairs. They called for an immediate ceasefire. The Soviet Union, on the other hand, protested that more force should have been used to subdue Katanga and initiate an immediate reunification with the Mobutu government.

Limited peace negotiations ensued, in the course of which, UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld died in a plane crash near Ndola, Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia).

Under UN pressure (military attacks), Tshombe later agreed to a three-stage plan from the acting Secretary General, U Thant, that would have reunited Katanga with Congo. However, this remained an agreement on paper only. The Katangan government insisted that, should the plan in full be honored by Leopoldville, Tshombe be entitled to aid in drafting a new Congolese constitution and elect his own representatives to Parliament. However, both sides began to express reservations about the terms less than a week later. The president wished that his agreement should be ratified by his national assembly before it could be considered binding; this misunderstanding quickly led to a collapse in relations with Congolese leader Cyrille Adola's regime. The frustrated United Nations went on to adopt a new plan, one that called for the adoption of a federal constitution in Congo within thirty days, an end to the illegal Katangan rebellion, the unification of currency, and the sharing of mining revenues on a fifty-fifty split between Katanga and the central government. U Thant, who was the chief architect of this proposal, also demanded that Tshombe unconditionally release all of his political prisoners. Belgium and the United States, hoping that the latter would have a positive role in reforming a unified Congo, endorsed the plan. While Cyrille Adola immediately accepted this compromise, Moise Tshombe stipulated conditions. A series of discussions hosted by the UN followed, although it failed to yield tangible results. Thant, who had become increasingly incensed by what he regarded as the Katangan state stalling for time, imposed economic sanctions. This, however, only succeeded in destroying the last hopes the Secretary-General had for a peaceful integration. On December 19, an exasperated Tshombe withdrew from ongoing negotiations in protest.

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.© Copyright Terrance Aspinall All rights reserved. 1990

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