First Congo War
Date 1996–1997 Location Zaire Result Mobutu Sese Seko overthrown; Laurent-Désiré Kabila becomes president
Combatants
AFDL, Uganda, Rwanda	Zaire
Commanders
Laurent-Désiré Kabila	Mobutu Sésé Seko
Casualties
Civilians killed: 200,000+

The First Congo War was a conflict from late 1996 to 1997 in which Zairean President Mobutu Sésé Seko was overthrown by rebel forces backed by foreign powers such as Uganda and Rwanda. Rebel leader Laurent-Désiré Kabila declared himself president and changed the name of the nation back to Democratic Republic of the Congo. The war set the foundation for, and was quickly followed by, the Second Congo War, which began on 2 August 1998. 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Mobutu Sese Seko Nkuku Ngbendu wa za Banga (October 14, 1930 – September 7, 1997), known commonly as Mobutu, or Joseph Mobutu-Sese Seko, born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, was the President of Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) for 32 years (1965–1997). ... Laurent-Désiré Kabila Laurent-Désiré Kabila (November 27, 1939 – January 18, 2001) was President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from May 1997, when he overthrew Mobutu Sese Seko until his assassination in January 2001. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Congo_Kinshasa_1997. ... The Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (ADFL) was a coalition of Congolese dissidents, disgruntled minority groups and nations that toppled President Mobutu Sese Seko and brought Laurent Kabila to power in the First Congo War (1996-1998). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Uganda. ... Image File history File links Flag_Rwanda_1962. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Zaire. ... Laurent-Désiré Kabila Laurent-Désiré Kabila (November 27, 1939 – January 18, 2001) was President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from May 1997, when he overthrew Mobutu Sese Seko until his assassination in January 2001. ... Mobutu Sésé Seko in the 1960s sporting his trademark leopardskin toque and glasses. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Motto: (French for Justice - Peace - Work) Anthem(s): Capital Kinshasa Largest city Kinshasa Official language(s) French (Lingala, Kikongo, Swahili, Tshiluba are national languages) Government Republic  - President Mobutu Sese Seko Independence From Belgium   - Date June 30, 1960  Area  - Total 2,345,410 km² (12th) 905,567 sq mi   - Water (%) 3. ... Mobutu Sésé Seko in the 1960s sporting his trademark leopardskin toque and glasses. ... Laurent-Désiré Kabila Laurent-Désiré Kabila (November 27, 1939 – January 18, 2001) was President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from May 1997, when he overthrew Mobutu Sese Seko until his assassination in January 2001. ... Combatants Government-aligned forces, Hutu-aligned forces Uganda-aligned forces, Tutsi-aligned forces Commanders Government: Laurent-Désiré Kabila, Joseph Kabila Rwanda: Paul Kagame, Uganda: Yoweri Museveni, others Strength  ?  ? Casualties  ?  ? The Second Congo War was a conflict that took place largely in the territory of Democratic Republic of the Congo... August 2 is the 214th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (215th in leap years), with 151 days remaining. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ...

Origins

Mobutu had controlled Zaïre since 1965 with backing from the United States, which had viewed him as a bulwark against leaders it perceived to be Soviet-backed, such as Patrice Lumumba. 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ... Soviet redirects here. ... Patrice Lumumba as the Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1960 Patrice Émery Lumumba (2 July 1925 – 17 January 1961) was an African anti-colonial leader and the first legally elected Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo after he helped to win its independence...

History of DR Congo

Early history Migration & states Colonization Stanley (1867–1885) Congo Free State Leopold II (1885–1908) Belgian Congo (1908–1960) Congo Crisis First Republic (1960–1965) Zaire Mobutu regime (1965–1996) First Congo War Kabila's rise (1996–1998) Second Congo War Africa's Great War (1998–2003) Transitional government Toward unity (since 2003)

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The early 1990s had seen a wave of democratization in Africa. There was substantial internal and external pressure for democratization in Zaïre, and Mobutu promised reform. He officially ended the one-party system he had maintained since 1967, but ultimately was unwilling to implement broad reform, alienating allies both at home and internationally. // Early history Main article: Early Congolese history The area now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo was populated as early as 10,000 years ago and settled in the 7th and 8th centuries A.D. by Bantus from present-day Nigeria. ... Image File history File links DRC_History_Logo. ... Early Congolese History starts with waves of Bantu migrations from 2000 BC to 500 AD moving into the area now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. ... Colonisation of the Congo refers to the period from Henry Morton Stanleys first exploration of the Congo (1867) until its annexation as a personal possession of King Léopold II of Belgium (1885). ... The Congo Free State was a kingdom privately and controversially owned by King Leopold II of Belgium that included the entire area now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. ... Capital Léopoldville Government Protectorate Created 1908 Dissolved 1960 Official language(s) French, Dutch The Belgian Congo was the formal title of present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) between King Léopold IIs formal relinquishment of personal control over the state to Belgium on 15 November 1908... Combatants Congo  UN troops Katanga  Belgium Mercenaries The Congo Crisis (1960-1965) was a period of turmoil in the First Republic of the Congo that began with national independence from Belgium and ended with the seizing of power by Joseph Mobutu. ... Combatants Government-aligned forces, Hutu-aligned forces Uganda-aligned forces, Tutsi-aligned forces Commanders Government: Laurent-Désiré Kabila, Joseph Kabila Rwanda: Paul Kagame, Uganda: Yoweri Museveni, others Strength  ?  ? Casualties  ?  ? The Second Congo War was a conflict that took place largely in the territory of Democratic Republic of the Congo... Transitional Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Stub: In 2001 President Luarent Kabila was assasinated and his son Joseph Kabila was named head of state. ... Germans dancing on the Berlin Wall in late 1989, the symbol of the cold war divide falls down as the world unites in the 1990s. ... Democratization is the transition from an authoritarian or a semi-authoritarian political system to a democratic political system. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ...

Refugee camp in Zaire, 1994

There had long been considerable internal resistance to Mobutu's rule. Opposition included leftists who looked back on the abortive rule of Patrice Lumumba with fondness as well as various ethnic and regional minorities opposed to the dominance of the Kinshasa region over the rest of the country. Kabila was one of these. He was also an ethnic Katangese who had been fighting the Mobutu government for decades. Refugee camp for Rwandans located in what is now the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo following the Rwandan Genocide Original caption: Rwandan refugees making camp in Kimbumba. ... Refugee camp for Rwandans located in what is now the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo following the Rwandan Genocide Original caption: Rwandan refugees making camp in Kimbumba. ... Patrice Lumumba as the Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1960 Patrice Émery Lumumba (2 July 1925 – 17 January 1961) was an African anti-colonial leader and the first legally elected Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo after he helped to win its independence... Kinshasa (formerly Léopoldville) is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. ... Katanga is the southern province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, regional capital Lubumbashi (formerly Elizabethville). ...

In what became known as the Great Lakes refugee crisis, the Rwandan Genocide resulted in the flight of two million Hutu refugees from Rwanda after the Rwandan Patriotic Front took over the country in July 1994. Among the refugees were members of the interahamwe, militia groups linked to political parties who took part in the genocide. They set up camps in eastern Zaire from which they attacked both Rwandan Tutsis and Zairian Tutsis called the Banyamulenge. Mobutu, whose control of the country was beginning to weaken, supported the Hutu extremists for political reasons and did nothing to stop the ongoing violence. Refugee camp in Zaire, 1994 The Great Lakes refugee crisis is the common name for the situation beginning with the exodus in April 1994 of over two million Rwandans to neighboring countries of the Great Lakes region of Africa in the aftermath of the Rwandan Genocide. ... The Rwandan Genocide (French: Génocide au Rwanda) was the massacre of an estimated 800,000 to 1,071,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus in Rwanda, mostly carried out by two extremist Hutu militia groups, the Interahamwe and the Impuzamugambi, during a period of about 100 days from April... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Rwandan Patriotic Front (also translated as: Rwandese Patriotic Front; or referred to as: Patriotic Front of Rwanda) abbreviated as RPF (also often referred to as FPR from French: Front patriotique rwandais) is the current ruling political party of Rwanda, led by President Paul Kagame. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by United Nations. ... The Interahamwe (Kinyarwanda meaning Those Who Stand Together or Those Who Fight Together) was the most important of the militias formed by the Hutu ethnic majority of Rwanda and, together with the smaller Impuzamugambi, was responsible for over 800,000 deaths in the Rwandan Genocide of 1994. ... The Tutsi are one of three native peoples of the nations of Rwanda and Burundi in central Africa, the other two being the Twa and the Hutu. ... The Banyamulenge are a group of Tutsi living in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). ...

Course of the war

Zaire, ca. 1996

When the vice-governor of South Kivu Province issued an order in November 1996 ordering the Banyamulenge to leave Zaire on penalty of death, they erupted in rebellion. The anti-Mobutu forces combined to form the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Zaire (AFDL). The AFDL received the support of the leaders of African Great Lakes states, particularly Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Yoweri Museveni of Uganda. Lacking foreign military assistance, many elements of the Zairian Army joined Laurent-Désiré Kabila as they marched from eastern DRC on Kinshasa. Image File history File links Zaire_96map. ... Image File history File links Zaire_96map. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... The Banyamulenge are a group of Tutsi living in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). ... The Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire (AFDL) was a coalition of Congolese dissidents, disgruntled minority groups and nations that toppled President Mobutu Sese Seko and brought Laurent Kabila to power in the First Congo War (1996-1997). ... The Great Lakes and the East African coastline as seen from space. ... Paul Kagame (born October 23, 1957) is the current President of Rwanda. ... Yoweri Kaguta Museveni (born c. ... Laurent-Désiré Kabila Laurent-Désiré Kabila (November 27, 1939 – January 18, 2001) was President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from May 1997, when he overthrew Mobutu Sese Seko until his assassination in January 2001. ... Kinshasa (formerly Léopoldville) is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. ...

With active support from Rwanda, Uganda and Angola, Kabila's forces moved methodically down the Congo river, encountering only light resistance from the crumbling regime based in Kinshasa. The bulk of his fighters were Tutsis and many were veterans from conflicts in the Lakes region of Africa. Kabila himself had credibility because he had been a longtime political opponent of Mobutu, and was a follower of Patrice Lumumba, the first Prime Minister of the independent Congo who was murdered and overthrown from power by a combination of internal and external forces, to be replaced by the then Lt.-Gen. Mobutu. Kabila had declared himself a Marxist and an admirer of Mao Zedong. He had been waging armed rebellion in eastern Zaire for nearly two decades, though, according to Che Guevara's account of the conflict, he was an uncommitted and uninspirational leader.[4]

Kabila's army began a slow movement westward in December 1996 near the end of the Great Lakes refugee crisis, taking control of border towns and mines and solidifying control. There were reports of massacres and brutal repression by the rebel army. A UN human rights investigator published statements from witnesses claiming that the ADFLC engaged in massacres, and that as many as 60,000 civilians were killed by the advancing army (a claim strenuously denied by the ADFLC). Roberto Garreton stated that his investigation in Goma turned up allegations of disappearances, torture and killings. He quoted Moese Nyarugabo, an aide to Mobutu as saying that killings and disappearances should be expected in wartime.

In March 1997, Kabila's forces launched an offensive, and demanded the government surrender. On March 27th it was reported that the rebels took Kasenga. These reports were dismissed by the government, which would begin a long pattern of false statements from the Defense Minister as to the progress and conduct of the war.

Talks were proposed in late March, and on April 2, a new Prime Minister was installed: Etienne Tshisekedi, a long time rival of Mobutu. Kabila, by this point in rough control of one quarter of the country, dismissed this as irrelevant, and warned Tshisekedi that he would have no part in a new government if he accepted the post.

Throughout the month of April the ADFLC made consistent progress down the river, and by May were on the outskirts of Kinshasa. On May 16, 1997, the multinational army headed by Kabila battled to secure Lubumbashi airport after peace talks broke down and Mobutu fled the country. (He died on September 7, 1997 in Morocco). After securing victory, Kabila controlled Kinshasa. He proclaimed himself President on the same day and immediately ordered a violent crackdown to restore order. He then began an attempt at reorganization of the nation.

However, once Kabila was in power the situation changed dramatically. He quickly became suspected of being as corrupt and authoritarian as his predecessor. Many of the pro-democracy forces abandoned him and he began a vigorous effort to centralize control. This brought renewed conflict with the minority groups of the east who demanded autonomy. Furthermore, Kabila began to turn against his former Rwandan allies when they showed little sign of withdrawing from his territory. He accused them and their allies of trying to capture the region's mineral resources. Furthermore, his overreliance on the Rwandans for political and military control was a major reason that pro-democracy forces accused Kabila of being a puppet of Kigali. Kigali, population 603,049 (2002 census), is the capital city of Rwanda and its largest city, lying in the centre of the nation. ...

In August 1998, Kabila removed all ethnic Tutsis from his Government and ordered all Rwandan and Ugandan officials out of the DRC. The two countries then turned against their former client, sending troops to aid rebels attempting to overthrow Kabila and triggering the Second Congo War. Combatants Government-aligned forces, Hutu-aligned forces Uganda-aligned forces, Tutsi-aligned forces Commanders Government: Laurent-Désiré Kabila, Joseph Kabila Rwanda: Paul Kagame, Uganda: Yoweri Museveni, others Strength  ?  ? Casualties  ?  ? The Second Congo War was a conflict that took place largely in the territory of Democratic Republic of the Congo...

Bibliography

• Clark, John F. (2002) The African Stakes in the Congo War New York: Palgrave McMillan. ISBN 1-4039-6723-7. Deals specifically with the current war using a political science approach to understanding motivations and power struggles, but is not an account of specific incidents and individuals.
• Edgerton, Robert G. (2002) The Troubled Heart of Africa: A History of the Congo St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-30486-2. There is a modicum of information on the troubles since 1996 in the latter sections.
• Gondola, Ch. Didier. (2002) The History of Congo, Greenwood Press, ISBN 0-313-31696-1. Covers events up to January 2002.

Glossary of Armed Groups