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140-741: In 2007 one of the two remaining full FARDC brigades in Katanga was stationed in Pweto Territory . This brigade, the 62nd, was illegally exploiting the Cassiterite mine in Kapulo. The ore is exported through the Musosa , Moba Territory border crossing into Zambia, bypassing customs posts. The Australian mining company Mawson West acquired the rights to a copper mine in the area from Anvil Mining in May 2010. The ore deposit

280-531: A cult of personality of its leader, Joseph Kony . Although the LRA has been regarded primarily as a Christian militia, the LRA reportedly evokes Acholi nationalism on occasion; many observers doubt the sincerity of this behaviour and the loyalty of Kony to any ideology. The original aims of the group were more closely aligned with those of its predecessor, the Holy Spirit Movement . Protection of

420-641: A 20,000-strong paramilitary force designated the People's Defence Forces. This force was intended to support the FAC and national police but never became effective. The Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement was not successful in ending the war, and fighting resumed in September 1999. The FAC's performance continued to be poor and both the major offensives the Government launched in 2000 ended in costly defeats. President Kabila's mismanagement

560-682: A botched United Nations special forces raid targeting the LRA deputy leader Vincent Otti in DR Congo . According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the LRA attacks and the government's counterinsurgency measures resulted in the displacement of nearly 95 percent of the Acholi population in three districts of northern Uganda. By 2006, 1.7 million people lived in more than 200 IDP camps in northern Uganda. These camps had some of

700-638: A criminal gang than an army, smuggling ivory and arms across the DR Congo border. In 2024, LRA officer Thomas Kwoyelo was tried in Uganda on charges including rape, murder, kidnapping, and enslavement of civilians. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison. Part of the structural causes of the LRA conflict has been explained as rooted in the "diversity of ethnic groups which were at different levels of socio-economic development and political organization", leading to ethnic strife. Enemy images have instilled insensitivity to

840-447: A free lunch to the work force was a good, sometimes the only, technique to motivate personnel to work at least half of the duty day. The army's logistics corps [was tasked].. to provide logistic support and conduct direct, indirect, and depot-level maintenance for the FAZ. But because of Zaire's lack of emphasis on maintenance and logistics, a lack of funding, and inadequate training, the corps

980-690: A future marked by stability and autonomy within a multi-party democracy in a new Ugandan state bound by the Ten Commandments . The LRA was listed as a terrorist group by the United States , but it has since been removed from the list of designated active terrorist groups . It has been accused of widespread human rights violations, including murder , abduction , mutilation , child sex slavery , and recruitment of child soldiers . Uganda's north and south are politically divided. The south and east are largely inhabited by Bantu -speakers, such as

1120-579: A groundswell of mistrust by the population against virtually any overtures from the government to the rebels. This cynical strategy, some argue, was deeply rooted and employed in Luwero triangle by the National Resistance Movement (NRM)/NRA rebels during their five-year bush war in order to garner popular support, with an underlying drive of "unique greed for absolute political power" in total abhorrence of democratic means. The strong imbalance in

1260-580: A monument to Lumumba in Stanleyville. Tshombe decided to use foreign mercenaries as well as the ANC to suppress the rebellion. Mike Hoare was employed to create the English-speaking 5 Commando at Kamina , with the assistance of a Belgian officer, Colonel Frederic Vanderwalle, while 6 Commando (Congo) was French-speaking and originally under the command of a Belgian Army colonel, Lamouline. By August 1964,

1400-674: A mostly Banyamulenge unit mutiniued at Bukavu after its officers tried to disperse the soldiers into different units spread all around the Congo. By mid-1998, formations on the outbreak of the Second Congo War included the Tanzanian-supported 50th Brigade, headquartered at Camp Kokolo in Kinshasa , and the 10th Brigade – one of the best and largest units in the army – stationed in Goma, as well as

1540-579: A new four-nation African Union military force (a brigade of 5,000, including contingents from DR Congo, the Central African Republic, and South Sudan) to hunt down Kony and the remnants of the LRA but asked for more international assistance for the task force. In 2012 the LRA was reported to be in Djema, Central African Republic, but forces pursuing the LRA withdrew in April 2013 after the government of

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1680-424: A new government. Lumumba and his cabinet responded by accusing Kasa-Vubu of high treason and voted to dismiss him. Parliament refused to confirm the dismissal of either Lumumba or Kasavubu and sought to bring about a reconciliation between them. After a week's deadlock, Mobutu announced on 14 September that he was assuming power until 31 December 1960 , in order to "neutralize" both Kasavubu and Lumumba." Mobutu formed

1820-612: A peaceful solution to the crisis. In December 2009, the LRA forces under Dominic Ongwen killed at least 321 civilians and abducted 250 others during a four-day attack in the village and region of Makombo in DR Congo. In February 2010, about 100 people were killed by the LRA in Kpanga , near DR Congo's border with the Central African Republic and Sudan. Small-scale attacks continued daily, displacing large numbers of people and worsening an ongoing humanitarian crisis , which

1960-628: A processing plant could start operations in November 2012. There could be further potential underground and elsewhere along the Kapulo fault. Infrastructure would include plant and buildings at the mine, a water dam and tailings storage facility. The company would upgrade the road from Pweto to improve access to the Pweto airstrip , which is 45 minutes by road away from the mine. Mining was begun at Kapulo in 2015, but suspended in 2016, due to low copper prices. Facing financial difficulties, Mawson West, along with

2100-421: A rebel government there. As the rebel movement spread, discipline became more difficult to maintain, and acts of violence and terror increased. Thousands of Congolese were executed, including government officials, political leaders of opposition parties, provincial and local police, school teachers, and others believed to have been Westernised. Many of the executions were carried out with extreme cruelty, in front of

2240-514: A reputation as having been possessed by spirits and became a spiritual figure or a medium. He and a small group of followers first moved beyond his home village of Odek on 1 April 1987. A few days later, he met a group of former Uganda National Liberation Front soldiers from the Black Battalion whom he managed to recruit. They then launched a raid on the city of Gulu . By August 1987, Auma's Holy Spirit Mobile Force scored several victories on

2380-494: A similar superstition, encouraging soldiers to use oil to draw a cross on their chest as protection from bullets. During a later interview, however, Auma distanced herself from Kony, claiming that the Holy Spirit did not want soldiers to kill civilians or prisoners of war. Kony sought to align himself with Auma and, in turn, garner support from her constituents, even going so far as to claim they were cousins. Meanwhile, Kony gained

2520-700: A single line along the Bengo River to face an 800-strong Cuban force across the river. Thus the Battle of Quifangondo began. The Cubans and MPLA fighters bombarded the FNLA with mortar and 122 mm rockets, destroying most of the FNLA's armoured cars and six Jeeps carrying antitank rockets in the first hour of fighting. Mobutu's support for the FNLA policy backfired when the MPLA won in Angola. The MPLA, then, acting ostensibly at least as

2660-401: A threat: "The most important thing is that no matter how little the LRA may be, it still constitutes a danger [as] they continue to attack and create havoc." Since the LRA first started fighting in the 1990s, they may have forced well over 10,000 boys and girls into combat, often killing family, neighbors, and school teachers in the process. Many of these children were put on the frontlines so

2800-503: A visit by a Chinese technical team in 1985, most of the tanks operated, but such an improved status generally has not lasted long beyond the departure of the visiting team. Several factors complicate maintenance in Zairian units. Maintenance personnel often lack the training necessary to maintain modern military equipment. Moreover, the wide variety of military equipment and the staggering array of spare parts necessary to maintain it not only clog

2940-663: Is a Christian extremist organization operating in Central Africa and East Africa . Its origins were in the Ugandan insurgency (1986–1994) against President Yoweri Museveni , during which Joseph Kony founded the LRA in 1987. The group is active in northern Uganda , South Sudan , Sudan , the Central African Republic , and the Democratic Republic of the Congo . Its stated goal is against internal oppression under successive regimes, notably President Museveni's. Movements like

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3080-542: Is believed to be a consequence of an ethnic-oriented war that was initiated by the NRM/NRA in Luwero Triangle against the residents of northern Uganda. This was fueled by the belief on the part of the leadership of the NRM/NRA that Ugandan politics had, since political independence ,been dominated by the northerners in the country and that this had happened because of their heavy composition in the armed forces. The determination

3220-583: Is just the name of the movement because we are fighting in the name of God. God is the one helping us in the bush. That's why we created this name, Lord's Resistance Army. And people always ask us, are we fighting for the Ten Commandments of God. That is true—because the Ten Commandments of God is the constitution that God has given to the people of the world. All people. If you go to the constitution, nobody will accept people who steal, nobody could accept to go and take somebody's wife, nobody could accept to kill

3360-437: Is not motivated by any identifiable political agenda, and its military strategy and tactics reflect this". IRIN comments that "the LRA remains one of the least understood rebel movements in the world, and its ideology, as far as it has one, is difficult to understand". During an interview with IRIN, the LRA commander Vincent Otti was asked about the LRA's vision of an ideal government. He responded: Lord's Resistance Army

3500-624: Is noted above, proved incapable of mastering the situation and preventing the overthrow of Mobutu in 1997. The Battle of Kinsangani took place in March 1997 during this war. The AFDL rebels, created by the Rwandan Patriotic Front , took the city defended by the Zairian Armed Forces (FAZ), loyal to President Mobutu. Before the battle itself, the air force, Serbian mercenaries and Rwandan Hutu militiamen were not enough to make up for

3640-593: Is on the eastern edge the Katanga sedimentary basin, and is north of the main copper belt in the Kundelungu Plateau zone. There are two ore zones, Shaba and Safari, separated by the 60 kilometres (37 mi) long Kapulo fault. In July 2011, Mawson West announced that a feasibility study for an open cut copper mine at Kapulo had given positive results. The find was valued at $ 141 million. Basic reserves are estimated at 200,000 tonnes of copper metal and 1.8 million ounces silver. Assuming construction started immediately,

3780-464: Is understaffed, underequipped, and generally unable to accomplish its mission. It is organised into three battalions assigned to Mbandaka , Kisangani , and Kamina , but only the battalion at Kamina is adequately staffed; the others are little more than skeleton" units. The poor state of discipline of the Congolese forces became apparent again in 1990. Foreign military assistance to Zaire ceased following

3920-650: The Force Publique , were created in 1888 when King Leopold II of Belgium , who held the Congo Free State as his private property, ordered his Secretary of the Interior to create military and police forces for the state. In 1908, under international pressure, Leopold ceded administration of the colony to the government of Belgium as the Belgian Congo . It remained under the command of a Belgian officer corps through to

4060-610: The Baganda people, who were historically agriculturists. Uganda's north is largely inhabited by the Nilotic -speaking Acholi , who had engaged in hunting, farming, and livestock herding in the past. The ethnic and cultural tensions within Uganda grew during the years following the creation of the Protectorate of Uganda in 1894. While the agricultural Baganda people worked closely with the British,

4200-455: The Bible 's ten commandments" were false. In the same speech, Obita also claimed that the LRA's objectives are: The LRA is known for having used several flags and logos over the course of its insurgency. In the course of peace talks in 2006, LRA commander Vincent Otti sketched the official LRA coat of arms, providing it to academic Mareike Schomerus: The emblem consisted of Uganda's national animal,

4340-497: The Carter Center and Pope John Paul II had been spurned by Kony. In February 2004, the LRA unit led by Okot Odhiambo attacked Barlonyo internally displaced person (IDP) camp, killing over 300 people and abducting many others. In 2006, UNICEF estimated that the LRA had abducted at least 25,000 children since the conflict began. In January 2006, eight Guatemalan Kaibiles commandos and at least 15 rebels were killed in

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4480-498: The College of Commissioners-General , a technocratic government of university graduates. In early January 1961, ANC units loyal to Lumumba invaded northern Katanga to support a revolt of Baluba tribesmen against Tshombe's secessionist regime. On 23 January 1961, Kasa-Vubu promoted Mobutu to major-general; De Witte argues that this was a political move, "aimed to strengthen the army, the president's sole support, and Mobutu's position within

4620-832: The Congolese National Police (PNC) are not part of the Armed Forces. The government in the capital city Kinshasa , the United Nations , the European Union , and bilateral partners which include Angola , South Africa , and Belgium are attempting to create a viable force with the ability to provide the Democratic Republic of Congo with stability and security. However, this process is being hampered by corruption, inadequate donor coordination, and competition between donors. The various military units now grouped under

4760-461: The Force Publique commander, wrote during a meeting of soldiers that 'Before independence=After Independence', pouring cold water on the soldiers' desires for an immediate raise in their status. Historian Louis-François Vanderstraeten says that on the morning of 8 July 1960, following a night during which all control had been lost over the soldiers, numerous ministers arrived at Camp Leopold with

4900-634: The Front for Congolese National Liberation , occupied Zaire's southeastern Katanga Province , then known as Shaba, in March 1977, facing little resistance from the FAZ. This invasion is sometimes known as Shaba I . Mobutu had to request assistance, which was provided by Morocco in the form of regular troops who routed the MPLA and their Cuban advisors out of Katanga. Also important were Egyptian pilots who flew Zaire's Mirage 5 combat aircraft. The humiliation of this episode led to civil unrest in Zaire in early 1978, which

5040-474: The IISS Military Balance, the FAZ included 14 infantry battalions, seven "Guard" battalions, and seven other infantry battalions variously designated as "parachute" (or possibly "commando"; probably the units of the parachute brigade originally formed in 1968). There were also an armoured car regiment and a mechanised infantry battalion. Organisationally, the army was made up of the parachute division and

5180-487: The Intercontinental Hotel and had presidential list cell-phone numbers. None spoke French or Lingala, but all spoke Kinyarwanda, Swahili, and, quite often, English." On being asked by Belgian journalist Colette Braeckman what was the actual army command structure apart from himself, Kabila answered 'We are not going to expose ourselves and risk being destroyed by showing ourselves openly... . We are careful so that

5320-723: The Katanga Gendarmerie which were part of Moise Tshombe 's regime (totalling about 10,000), and the Stanleyville dissident ANC loyal to Antoine Gizenga (numbering about 8,000). In August 1960, due to the rejection of requests for UN assistance to suppress the South Kasai and Katanga revolts, Lumumba's government decided to request Soviet help. De Witte writes that "Leopoldville asked the Soviet Union for planes, lorries, arms, and equipment...Shortly afterwards, on 22 or 23 August, about 1,000 soldiers left for Kasai." On 26–27 August,

5460-525: The Rassemblement Démocratique pour le Rwanda , who launched repeated attacks into Rwanda. Rwanda eventually backed Laurent-Désiré Kabila and his quickly-organised Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (AFDL) in invading Zaire, aiming to stop the attacks on Rwanda in the process of toppling Mobutu's government. When the militias rebelled, backed by Rwanda, the FAZ, weakened as

5600-804: The Rwandan force which had landed in Bas-Congo and the rebel forces south-west of Kinshasa and eventually halted the rebel and Rwandan offensive in the east of the DRC. These successes contributed to the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement which was signed in July 1999. Following the Lusaka Agreement, in mid-August 1999 President Kabila issued a decree dividing the country into eight military regions. The first military region, Congolese state television reported, would consist of

5740-558: The South Kivu and North Kivu in the east, and to assist the government in reconstruction. Foreign rebel groups are also in the Congo, as they have been for most of the last half-century. The most important is the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), against which Laurent Nkunda 's troops were fighting, but other smaller groups such as the anti-Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army are also present. The legal standing of

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5880-681: The United States Army , and the resulting "Greene Plan", the pattern of bilaterally agreed military assistance to various Congolese military components, instead of a single unified effort, was already taking shape. In early 1964, a new crisis broke out as Congolese rebels calling themselves " Simba " (Swahili for "Lion") rebelled against the government. They were led by Pierre Mulele , Gaston Soumialot and Christophe Gbenye who were former members of Gizenga's Parti Solidaire Africain (PSA). The rebellion affected Kivu and Eastern (Orientale) provinces. By August they had captured Stanleyville and set up

6020-580: The kidnapping of 139 school girls in Aboke in 1996 that were forced to become soldiers and also sex slaves to the soldiers. The government created the so-called "protected camps" beginning in 1996. The LRA declared a short-lived ceasefire for the duration of 1996 Ugandan presidential election , possibly in the hope that Yoweri Museveni would be defeated. Based on 1999 UNICEF data, over 6,000 children were held by LRA rebels in Northern Uganda. In March 2002,

6160-527: The 12th Brigade in Bukavu. The declaration of the 10th Brigade's commander, former DSP officer Jean-Pierre Ondekane , on 2 August 1998 that he no longer recognised Kabila as the state's president was one of the factors in the beginning of the Second Congo War . According to Jane's , the FAC performed poorly throughout the Second Congo War and "demonstrated little skill or recognisable military doctrine". At

6300-493: The 1st Groupement at Kananga , with one guard battalion, two infantry battalions, and a gendarmerie battalion attached, and the 2nd Groupement ( Kinshasa ), the 3rd Groupement ( Kisangani ), the 4th Groupement ( Lubumbashi ), the 5th Groupement ( Bukavu ), the 6th Groupement ( Mbandaka ), and the 7th Groupement ( Boma ). Each was about the size of a brigade, and commanded by aging generals who have had no military training, and often not much positive experience, since they were NCOs in

6440-520: The 25,000-member FAZ ground forces consisted of one infantry division (with three infantry brigades); one airborne brigade (with three parachute battalions and one support battalion); one special forces (commando/counterinsurgency) brigade; the Special Presidential Division ; one independent armoured brigade; and two independent infantry brigades (each with three infantry battalions, one support battalion). These units were deployed throughout

6580-510: The 28,283 deaths, occurring mostly outside camps. In 2006–2008, a series of meetings were held in Juba , Sudan, between the government of Uganda and the LRA, mediated by the south Sudanese separatist leader Riek Machar . The Ugandan government and the LRA signed a truce on 26 August 2006. Under the terms of the agreement, LRA forces would leave Uganda and gather in two assembly areas in the remote Garamba National Park area of northern DR Congo that

6720-480: The ANC seized Bakwanga , Albert Kalonji's capital in South Kasai, without serious resistance and, according to de Witte, "in the next two days it temporarily put an end to the secession of Kasai." At this point, the Library of Congress Country Study for the Congo says, that on 5 September 1960: "Kasavubu also appointed Mobutu as head of the ANC. Joseph Ileo was chosen as the new prime minister and began trying to form

6860-468: The ANC; Colonel Joseph-Désiré Mobutu as chief of staff; and the Belgian, Colonel Henniquiau, as chief advisor to the ANC". Thus General Janssens was dismissed. Both Lundula and Mobutu were former sergeants of the Force Publique . On 8–9 July 1960, the soldiers were invited to appoint black officers, and "command of the army passed securely into the hands of former sergeants," as the soldiers in general chose

7000-436: The Acholi and other northern ethnic groups supplied much of the national manual labor and came to comprise a majority of the military. The southern region became the center for commercial trade development. The livestock-raising Acholi from the north of Uganda were resented for dominating the army and policing. Following the country's independence in 1962 , Uganda's ethnic groups continued to compete with each other within

7140-428: The Acholi population was of particular concern because of the genuine reality of ethnic purges in the history of Uganda. This created a great deal of concern in the Acholi community, as well as a strong desire for formidable leadership and protection. As the conflict has progressed, fewer and fewer Acholi offered sufficient support to the rebels in the eyes of the LRA. This led to an increased amount of violence toward

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7280-596: The Africanisation of the army. There was a Force Publique mutiny at Camp Massart, in Elizabethville, on 9 July 1960; five or seven Europeans were killed. The army revolt and resulting rumours caused severe panic across the country, and Belgium despatched troops and the naval Task Group 218.2 to protect its citizens. Belgian troops intervened in Elisabethville and Luluabourg (10 July), Matadi (11 July), Leopoldville (13 July) and elsewhere. There were immediate suspicions that Belgium planned to re-seize their former colony whilst doing so. Large numbers of Belgian colonists fled

7420-569: The Belgian Force Publique.' By the late 1970s the number of groupements reached nine, one per administrative region. The parachute division (Division des Troupes Aéroportées Renforcées de Choc, DITRAC) operated semi-independently from the rest of the army. In July 1972 a number of the aging generals commanding the groupements were retired. Général d'armée Louis Bobozo , and Generaux de Corps d'Armée Nyamaseko Mata Bokongo, Nzoigba Yeu Ngoli, Muke Massaku , Ingila Grima, Itambo Kambala Wa Mukina, Tshinyama Mpemba, and General de Division Yossa Yi Ayira,

7560-408: The Central African Republic was overthrown by the Séléka Coalition rebels . The UPDF rescued more than 15,000 people that were abducted since 1986. It is estimated that over 50,000 children were captured during the 20 years in Northern Uganda by LRA. As of 2022, it was reported that the LRA consisted of splinter groups of 1,000 members altogether and was militarily very weak. It acted more like

7700-418: The Congo . The FARDC was rebuilt patchily as part of the peace process which followed the end of the Second Congo War in July 2003. The majority of FARDC members are land forces, but it also has a small air force and an even smaller navy. In 2010–2011 the three services may have numbered between 144,000 and 159,000 personnel. In addition, there is a presidential force called the Republican Guard , but it and

7840-418: The Congo coup d'état . Although Mobutu succeeded in taking power, his position was soon threatened by the Stanleyville mutinies , also known as the Mercenaries' Mutinies, which were eventually suppressed. As a general rule, since that time, the armed forces have not intervened in politics as a body, rather being tossed and turned as ambitious men have shaken the country. In reality, the larger problem has been

7980-409: 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 the 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

8120-402: The FARDC banner are some of the most unstable in Africa after years of war and underfunding. To assist the new government, since February 2000 the United Nations has had the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (now called MONUSCO ), which currently has a strength of over 16,000 peacekeepers in the country. Its principal tasks are to provide security in key areas, such as

8260-428: The FARDC was laid down in the Transitional Constitution, articles 118 and 188. This was then superseded by provisions in the 2006 Constitution, articles 187 to 192. Law 04/023 of 12 November 2004 establishes the General Organisation of Defence and the Armed Forces. In mid-2010, the Congolese Parliament was debating a new defence law, provisionally designated Organic Law 130. The first organised Congolese troops, known as

8400-487: The FAZ had to put down. The poor performance of Zaire's military during Shaba I gave evidence of chronic weaknesses. One problem was that some of the Zairian soldiers in the area had not received pay for extended periods. Senior officers often kept the money intended for the soldiers, typifying a generally disreputable and inept senior leadership in the FAZ. As a result, many soldiers simply deserted rather than fight. Others stayed with their units but were ineffective. During

8540-451: The FAZ's lack of fighting spirit. After the war, elements of the Mobutu-loyal FAZ managed to retreat into northern Congo, and from there into Sudan while attempting to escape the AFDL. Allying themselves with the Sudanese government which was fighting its own civil war at the time, these FAZ troops were destroyed by the Sudan People's Liberation Army during Operation Thunderbolt near Yei in March 1997. When Kabila took power in 1997,

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8680-416: The Federal Democratic Movement (FEDEMO), were known for their lack of discipline and brutal actions meant that the civilian population was accused of supporting the rebel LRA; likewise, the rebels accused the population of supporting the government army. In March 1991, the Ugandan governments NRA started Operation North, which combined efforts to destroy the LRA, while cutting away its roots of support among

8820-403: The Gendarmerie. Writing in 1988, Michael Schatzberg said the full details of the coup had yet to emerge. Meitho, writing many years later, says the officers were accused of trying to raise Mobutu's secrétaire particulier , Colonel Omba Pene Djunga, from Kasai, to power. In late 1975, Mobutu, in a bid to install a pro- Kinshasa government in Angola and thwart the Marxist Popular Movement for

8960-423: The Kapulo mine, was acquired by a subsidiary of Trafigura in 2016. This Democratic Republic of the Congo location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . FARDC The Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ( French : Forces armées de la république démocratique du Congo [FARDC]) is the state organisation responsible for defending the Democratic Republic of

9100-425: The LRA attacks in DR Congo resulted in displacing as many as 320,000 Congolese, exposing them to famine and disease, according to UNICEF director Ann Veneman . Also in August 2009, the LRA attacked a Catholic church in Ezo, South Sudan , on the Feast of the Assumption , with reports of victims being crucified , causing Ugandan Archbishop John Baptist Odama to call upon the international community for help in finding

9240-442: The LRA broke off negotiations, accusing the government of trying to entrap them. Starting in the mid-1990s, the LRA was strengthened by military support from the government of Sudan , which was retaliating against Ugandan government support for rebels in what would become South Sudan . The LRA fought with the NRA army which led to mass atrocities such as the killing or abduction of several hundred villagers in Atiak in 1995 and

9380-535: The LRA have articulated demands that include President Museveni's immediate resignation, the dissolution of the National Resistance Army (NRA) and Uganda People's Defence Force (UPDF), and the establishment of an independent government reflecting ethnic diversity and democratic principles. This struggle has exacted a heavy humanitarian toll, with widespread displacement, loss of life, and atrocities against civilians devastating northern Uganda, particularly Acholiland . Despite allegations of brutality, groups like

9520-407: The LRA seek international recognition, framing their actions as self-defense and resistance against government injustices. The conflict has also profoundly impacted Acholi society, disrupting education, fracturing traditional family structures, and precipitating forced migration, contributing to a cultural erosion. Amid complex geopolitical dynamics and international scrutiny, they wish to move toward

9660-452: The LRA's commandment given as "Thou shalt not smoke." In a speech, James Obita , a former secretary for external affairs and mobilisation of the LRA, adamantly denied that the LRA was "just an Acholi thing" and stated that claims made by the media and Museveni administration asserting that the LRA is a "group of Christian fundamentalists with bizarre beliefs whose aim is to topple the Museveni regime and replace it with governance based on

9800-534: The LRA, in response to Uganda lending military support to the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA). According to Matthew Green , author of The Wizard of the Nile: The Hunt for Africa's Most Wanted , the LRA was highly organised and equipped with crew-operated weapons, VHF radios , and satellite phones . In 2001, it was also reported that LRA targets Sudanese refugees. The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants on 8 July and 27 September 2005 against Joseph Kony , his deputy Vincent Otti , and

9940-542: The Liberation of Angola (MPLA)'s drive for power, deployed FAZ armoured cars, paratroopers, and three infantry battalions to Angola in support of the National Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA). On 10 November 1975, an anti-Communist force made up of 1,500 FNLA fighters, 100 Portuguese Angolan soldiers, and two FAZ battalions passed near the city of Quifangondo, only 30 kilometres (19 mi) north of Luanda , at dawn on 10 November. The force, supported by South African aircraft and three 140 mm artillery pieces, marched in

10080-598: The Ministry of Defence, Italians were supporting the Air Force, Americans were assisting with transport and communications, Israelis with airborne forces training, and there were British advisors with the engineers. In 1972 the state-sponsored political organisation, the Mouvement Populaire de la Révolution (MPR), resolved at a party congress to form activist cells in each military unit. The decision caused consternation among

10220-712: The NRA, now the UPDF , launched a massive military offensive code-named Operation Iron Fist against the LRA bases in southern Sudan, with agreement from the National Islamic Front . In retaliation, the LRA attacked the refugee camps in northern Uganda and the Eastern Equatoria in southern Sudan (now South Sudan), brutally killing hundreds of civilians. By 2004, according to the UPDF spokesperson Shaban Bantariza , mediation efforts by

10360-449: The NRM's more than 20 year rule. Although poverty at times may be treated as an escalating factor which creates resentment in society, its role in the conflict in northern Uganda is part of the underlying class structural factors. The Poverty Status Report, 2003, indicates that "one-third of the chronically poor (30.1%) and a disproportionate moving into poverty are from northern Uganda". The LRA

10500-707: The RCD-Goma received the Land Force commander's position (Sylvain Buki) and the MLC the navy ( Dieudonne Amuli Bahigwa ). Three military regional commanders were nominated by the former Kinshasa government, two commanders each by the RCD-Goma and the MLC, and one region commander each by the RCD-K/ML and RCD-N. However these appointments were announced for Kabila's Forces armées congolaises (FAC), not

10640-489: The UN described as one of the worst in the world. By May 2010, the LRA killed over 1,600 Congolese civilians and abducted more than 2,500. Between September 2008 and July 2011, the group, despite being down to only a few hundred fighters, had killed more than 2,300 people, abducted more than 3,000, and displaced over 400,000 across DR Congo, South Sudan, and the Central African Republic. In March 2012, Uganda announced it would head

10780-654: The Ugandan government agreed not to attack. Between December 2008–March 2009, the armed forces of Uganda, DR Congo, and South Sudan launched aerial attacks and raids on the LRA camps in Garamba, destroying them. The efforts to inflict a military defeat on the LRA were not fully successful. The US supported Operation Lightning Thunder against the LRA. There were brutal revenge attacks by scattered LRA remnants, with over 1,000 people killed and hundreds abducted in DR Congo and South Sudan. Hundreds of thousands were displaced while fleeing

10920-638: The United Nations and the Congolese Government on the operation of the Force was agreed by 27 July. On 9 August, Albert Kalonji proclaimed the independence of South Kasai . During the crucial period of July–August 1960, Mobutu built up "his" national army by channeling foreign aid to units loyal to him, by exiling unreliable units to remote areas, and by absorbing or dispersing rival armies. He tied individual officers to him by controlling their promotion and

11060-527: The United Nations troops. Following assurances that contingents of the Force would arrive in sufficient numbers, the Belgian authorities agreed to withdraw all their forces from the Leopoldville area by 23 July. The last Belgian troops left the country by 23 July, as United Nations forces continued to deploy throughout the Congo. The build of ONUC continued, its strength increasing to over 8,000 by 25 July and to over 11,000 by 31 July 1960. A basic agreement between

11200-584: The actual capability of the armed forces at the time. Apart from privileged formations such as the Presidential Division and the 31st Airborne Brigade, most units were poorly trained, divided and so badly paid that they regularly resorted to looting. What operational abilities the armed forces had were gradually destroyed by politicisation of the forces, tribalisation, and division of the forces, included purges of suspectedly disloyal groups, intended to allow Mobutu to divide and rule. All this occurred against

11340-399: The aim of calming the situation. Both Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba and President Joseph Kasa-Vubu eventually arrived, and the soldiers listened to Kasa-Vubu "religiously." After his speech, Kasa-Vubu and the ministers present retired into the camp canteen to hear a delegation from the soldiers. Vanderstraeten says that, according to Joseph Ileo , their demands ( revendications ) included

11480-457: The area—trust neither the LRA nor government forces". He believes that "a Ugandan political solution" ("political process"), rather than "military mobilisation" and international "escalation", was what was needed to resolve this conflict. The LRA's ideology is disputed among academics. In practice, "the LRA is not motivated by any identifiable political agenda, and its military strategy and tactics reflect this". It appears to largely function as

11620-460: The army suffered from a dramatic deficit of trained leaders, particularly in the officer corps. This was because the Force Publique had always only been officered by Belgian or other expatriate whites. The Belgian Government made no effort to train Congolese commissioned officers until the very end of the colonial period, and in 1958, only 23 African cadets had been admitted even to the military secondary school. The highest rank available to Congolese

11760-413: The army." United Nations Security Council Resolution 161 of 21 February 1961, called for the withdrawal of Belgian officers from command positions in the ANC, and the training of new Congolese officers with UN help. ONUC made a number of attempts to retrain the ANC from August 1960 to June 1963, often been set back by political changes. By March 1963 however, after the visit of Colonel Michael Greene of

11900-400: The arrival of mercenary units (seemingly including the hurriedly formed 5th Mechanised Brigade) at Stanleyville which was quickly captured. It took until the end of the year to completely put down the remaining areas of rebellion during " Operation South ". After five years of turbulence, in 1965 Mobutu used his position as ANC Chief of Staff to seize power in the 1965 Democratic Republic of

12040-598: The background of increasing deterioration of state structures under the kleptocratic Mobutu regime. Much of the origins of the recent conflict in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo stems from the turmoil following the Rwandan genocide of 1994, which then led to the Great Lakes refugee crisis . Within the largest refugee camps, beginning in Goma in Nord-Kivu, were Rwandan Hutu fighters, who were eventually organised into

12180-557: The battlefield and began a march toward the capital, Kampala . In 1988, after the Holy Spirit Movement was decisively defeated in the Jinja District and Auma fled to Kenya , Kony seized this opportunity to recruit the Holy Spirit remnants. The LRA occasionally carried out local attacks to underline the inability of the government to protect the population. The fact that most NRA government forces, in particular, former members of

12320-518: The bounds of Uganda's new political system. In 1986, the armed rebellion led by Yoweri Museveni 's NRA won the Ugandan Bush War and took control of the country. The victors sought vengeance against ethnic groups in the North of Uganda. Their activities included Operation Simsim, which engaged in burning, looting, and killings of locals. Such acts of violence led to the formation of rebel groups from

12460-482: The casualty rate for these children has been high. The LRA have often used children to fight because they are easy to replace by raiding schools or villages. According to Livingstone Sewanyana, executive director of the Foundation for Human Rights Initiative, the government was the first to use child soldiers in this conflict. Although unproven, there have been rumors that Sudan may have provided military assistance to

12600-462: The country instead of keeping them close to Kinshasa, as had previously been the case. The Kamanyola Division , at the time considered the army's best formation, and considered the president's own, was assigned permanently to Shaba . In addition to these changes, the army's strength was reduced by 25 percent. Also, Zaire's allies provided a large influx of military equipment, and Belgian, French, and American advisers assisted in rebuilding and retraining

12740-589: The country was renamed the Democratic Republic of the Congo and so the name of the national army changed once again, to the Forces armées congolaises (FAC). Tanzania sent six hundred military advisors to train Kabila's new army in May 1997. (Prunier says that the instructors were still at the Kitona base when the Second Congo War broke out, and had to be quickly returned to Tanzania. Prunier said "South African aircraft carried out

12880-537: The country, with the main concentrations in Shaba Region (approximately half the force). The Kamanyola Division, consisting of three infantry brigades operated generally in western Shaba Region; the 21st Infantry Brigade was located in Lubumbashi ; the 13th Infantry Brigade was deployed throughout eastern Shaba; and at least one battalion of the 31st Airborne Brigade stayed at Kamina . The other main concentration of forces

13020-499: The country. At the same time, on 11 July, Moise Tshombe declared the independence of Katanga Province in the south-east, closely backed by remaining Belgian administrators and soldiers. On 14 July 1960, in response to requests by Prime Minister Lumumba, the UN Security Council adopted United Nations Security Council Resolution 143 . This called upon Belgium to remove its troops and for the UN to provide military assistance to

13160-405: The crane, standing atop two palm fronds forming a circle; within the circle there is a star, a crescent moon, and a heart containing the Ten Commandments ; over and below the palm fronds the group's name can be found on two small banners. At the time, Otti stated that crane signified pride in Uganda, the palm fronds stood for peace, the Ten Commandments for the group's commitment to Christianity, and

13300-408: The crescent for the oneness of God regardless of religion. Otti claimed that the symbol adorned every LRA uniform, and that he had designed it. It is unclear whether the group continued to use the symbol after Otti's alleged execution by Kony. By 2010, the LRA no longer used standardized uniforms, instead plundering clothing from enemy armies. Furthermore, its troops often adorned their uniforms with

13440-474: The end of the Cold War and Mobutu deliberately allowed the military's condition to deteriorate so that it did not threaten his hold on power. Protesting low wages and lack of pay, paratroopers began looting Kinshasa in September 1991 and were only stopped after intervention by French ('Operation Baumier') and Belgian ('Operation Blue Beam') forces. In 1993, according to the Library of Congress Country Studies ,

13580-416: The evacuation after a personal conversation between President Mkapa and not-yet-president Thabo Mbeki. Command over the armed forces in the first few months of Kabila's rule was vague. Gérard Prunier writes that "there was no minister of defence, no known chief of staff, and no ranks; all officers were Cuban-style 'commanders' called 'Ignace', 'Bosco', Jonathan', or 'James', who occupied connecting suites at

13720-541: The extent that people perceived as enemies can be deemed inconsequential. A former Cabinet minister who was a key figure in the Presidential Peace Team while addressing elders in Lango on the atrocities committed by the NRA in the northern districts of Gulu , Kitgum , Lira , Apac , and Teso , warned them that "they did not matter as long as the south was stable". This sense of betrayal on the northerners festered into

13860-449: The first warrants issued by the ICC since it was established in 2002. Details of the warrants were sent to the three countries where the LRA is active: Uganda, Sudan (the LRA was active in what is now South Sudan ), and DR Congo. The LRA leadership has long stated that they would never surrender unless they were granted immunity from prosecution; so the ICC order to arrest them raised concerns that

14000-467: The flags of enemy states to confuse their opponents, for instance using the regular flag of Uganda and the flag of Luxembourg . The Sudan Tribune also attributed a red-black-blue flag to the LRA. In 2007, the government of Uganda claimed that the LRA had only 500 or 1,000 soldiers in total, but other sources estimated that there could have been as many as 3,000 soldiers, along with about 1,500 women and children. By 2011, unofficial estimates were in

14140-512: The flow of money for payrolls. Researchers working from the 1990s have concluded that money was directly funnelled to the army by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency , the United Nations , and Belgium . Despite this, by September 1960, following the four-way division of the country, there were four separate armed forces: Mobotu's ANC itself, numbering about 12,000, the South Kasai Constabulary loyal to Albert Kalonji (3,000 or less),

14280-457: The following: The "laborious" discussions which then followed were later retrospectively given the label of an "extraordinary ministerial council." Gérard-Libois writes that "...the special meeting of the council of ministers took steps for the immediate Africanisation of the officer corps and named Victor Lundula , who was born in Kasai and was burgomaster of Jadotville , as Commander-in-Chief of

14420-698: The force. Despite these improvements, a second invasion by the former Katangan gendarmerie, known as Shaba II in May–June 1978, was only dispersed with the despatch of the French 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment and a battalion of the Belgian Paracommando Regiment . Kamanyola Division units collapsed almost immediately. French units fought the Battle of Kolwezi to recapture the town from the FLNC. The U.S. provided logistical assistance. In July 1975, according to

14560-404: The highest mortality rates in the world. The Ugandan Ministry of Health and partners estimated that, through the first seven months of 2005, about 1,000 people were dying weekly, chiefly from malaria and AIDS . During the same time period of January–July 2005, the LRA abducted 1,286 Ugandans (46.4 percent of whom were children under the age of 15 years), and violence accounted for 9.4 percent of

14700-524: The independence of the colony in 1960. Throughout 1916 and 1917, the Force Publique saw combat in Cameroun , and successfully invaded and conquered areas of German East Africa , notably present day Rwanda , during World War I. Elements of the Force Publique were also used to form Belgian colonial units that fought in the East African Campaign during World War II. At independence on 30 June 1960,

14840-452: The innocent, or whatever. The Ten Commandments carries all this. The Norwegian scholar Knut Holter has argued that what the LRA means by the "Ten Commandments" is somewhat loosely associated with the Ten Commandments as found in the Biblical text. Holter notes that the LRA have created new commandments that help propagate their ideology under the term the "Ten Commandments". One such example is

14980-401: The inventory has traditionally varied, depending on a unit's priority and the presence or absence of foreign advisers and technicians. A considerable portion of military equipment is not operational, primarily as a result of shortages of spare parts, poor maintenance, and theft. For example, the tanks of the 1st Armoured Brigade often have a nonoperational rate approaching 70 to 80 percent. After

15120-509: The last having been commander of the Kamina base, were all retired on 25 July 1972. Taking over as military commander-in-chief, now titled Captain General, was newly promoted General de Division Bumba Moaso , former commander of the parachute division. A large number of countries supported the FAZ in the early 1970s. Three hundred Belgian personnel were serving as staff officers and advisors throughout

15260-577: The later FARDC. However, troop deployment on the ground did not change substantially until the year afterward. On 24 January 2004, a decree created the Structure Militaire d'Intégration (SMI, Military Integration Structure). Together with the SMI, CONADER also was designated to manage the combined tronc commun DDR element and military reform programme. The first post-Sun City military law appears to have been passed on 12 November 2004, which formally created

15400-439: The level of development and investment between Eastern and Northern Uganda on the one side, and Central and Western Uganda on the other perceived as wealthy, is a manifestation of economic marginalization of the region, in spite of the fact most top leadership in Uganda hailed from the north between 1962 and 1985. This marginalization with the consequences of wars, has resulted in varying poverty levels in northern Uganda, for most of

15540-481: The logistic network but also are expensive. The most important factor that negatively affects maintenance is the low and irregular pay that soldiers receive, resulting in the theft and sale of spare parts and even basic equipment to supplement their meager salaries. When not stealing spare parts and equipment, maintenance personnel often spend the better part of their duty day looking for other ways to profit. American maintenance teams working in Zaire found that providing

15680-763: The massacres. The military action in DR Congo did not result in the capture or killing of Kony, who remained elusive. During December 2008, the LRA massacred at least 143 people and abducted 180 at a concert celebration sponsored by the Roman Catholic church in Faradje in DR Congo. The LRA struck several other communities in the near-simultaneous attacks: 75 people were murdered in a church near Dungu , at least 80 were killed in Batande, 48 in Bangadi , and 213 in Gurba . By August 2009,

15820-447: The mercenaries, with the assistance of other ANC troops, were making headway against the Simba rebellion. Fearing defeat, the rebels started taking hostages of the local white population in areas under their control. These hostages were rescued in Belgian airdrops (Operations Dragon Rouge and Dragon Noir ) over Stanleyville and Paulis airlifted by U.S. aircraft. The operation coincided with

15960-617: The mid-1990s that "[m]ajor acts of violence, such as the killings that followed the "Kasongo uprising" in Bandundu Region in 1978, the killings of diamond miners in Kasai-Oriental Region in 1979, and, more recently, the massacre of students in Lubumbashi in 1990, continued to intimidate the population." The authors of the Library of Congress Country Study on Zaire commented in 1992–93 that: "The maintenance status of equipment in

16100-552: The military attaché of Zaïre in Paris, the military attache in Brussels, a paracommando battalion commander, and several others. The regime alleged these officers and others (including Mobutu's secrétaire particulier ) had plotted the assassination of Mobutu, high treason, and disclosure of military secrets, among other offences. The alleged coup was investigated by a revolutionary commission headed by Boyenge Mosambay Singa, at that time head of

16240-465: The misuse and sometimes abuse of the military and police by political and ethnic leaders. On 16 May 1968 a parachute brigade of two regiments (each of three battalions) was formed which eventually was to grow in size to a full division. The country was renamed Zaire in 1971 and the army was consequently designated the Forces Armées Zaïroises (FAZ). In 1971 the army's force consisted of

16380-554: The months following the Shaba invasion, Mobutu sought solutions to the military problems that had contributed to the army's dismal performance. He implemented sweeping reforms of the command structure, including wholesale firings of high-ranking officers. He merged the military general staff with his own presidential staff and appointed himself chief of staff again, in addition to the positions of minister of defence and supreme commander that he already held. He also redeployed his forces throughout

16520-512: The most-educated and highest-ranked Congolese army soldiers as their new officers. Most of the Belgian officers were retained as advisors to the new Congolese hierarchy, and calm returned to the two main garrisons at Leopoldville and Thysville . The Force Publique was renamed the Armée nationale congolaise (ANC), or Congolese National Armed Forces. However, in Katanga Belgian officers resisted

16660-420: The new force's mandate . Because the Congolese army had been in disarray since the mutiny, Lumumba wanted to use the UN troops to subdue Katanga by force. Lumumba became extremely frustrated with the UN's unwillingness to use force against Tshombe and his secession. He cancelled a scheduled meeting with Secretary General Dag Hammarskjöld on 14 August and wrote a series of angry letters instead. To Hammarskjöld,

16800-633: The new national Forces Armées de la République Démocratique du Congo (FARDC). Included in this law was article 45, which recognised the incorporation of a number of armed groups into the FARDC, including the former government army Forces Armées Congolaises (FAC), ex-FAZ personnel also known as former President Mobutu's 'les tigres', the RCD-Goma, RCD-ML, RCD-N, MLC, the Mai-Mai, as well as other government-determined military and paramilitary groups. Lord%27s Resistance Army The Lord's Resistance Army ( LRA )

16940-555: The non-combatant population, which in turn further alienated them from the rebels. This self-perpetuating cycle led to the creation of a strict divide between Acholis and rebels—a divide that was previously not explicitly present. Robert Gersony , in a report funded by the U.S. embassy in Kampala in 1997, concluded that "the LRA has no political program or ideology, at least none that the local population has heard or can understand". The International Crisis Group has stated that "the LRA

17080-515: The officer corps, as the army had been apolitical (and even anti-political) since before independence. On 11 June 1975 several military officers were arrested in what became known as the coup monté et manqué. Amongst those arrested were Générals Daniel Katsuva wa Katsuvira, Land Forces Chief of Staff, Utshudi Wembolenga, Commandant of the 2nd Military Region at Kalemie ; Fallu Sumbu, Military Attaché of Zaïre in Washington, Colonel Mudiayi wa Mudiayi,

17220-603: The outbreak of the war in 1998 the Army was ineffective and the DRC Government was forced to rely on assistance from Angola , Chad , Namibia and Zimbabwe . As well as providing expeditionary forces , these countries unsuccessfully attempted to retrain the DRC Army. North Korea and Tanzania also provided assistance with training. During the first year of the war the Allied forces defeated

17360-462: The population through heavy-handed tactics. As part of Operation North, the army created the "Arrow Groups", village guards mostly armed with bows and arrows. The creation of the Arrow Groups angered Kony, who began to feel that he no longer had the support of the population. After the failure of Operation North, Betty Oyella Bigombe initiated the first face-to-face meeting between representatives of

17500-455: The range of 300 to 400 combatants, with more than half believed to be abductees. The soldiers are organized into independent squads of 10 or 20 soldiers. By early 2012, the LRA had been reduced to a force of between 200 and 250 fighters, according to Ugandan defence minister Crispus Kiyonga . Abou Moussa, the UN envoy in the region, said in March 2012 that the LRA was believed to have dwindled to between 200 and 700 followers but still remained

17640-443: The ranks of the previous Ugandan army, Uganda National Liberation Army . Many of those groups made peace with Museveni. The southern-dominated army, however, did not stop attacking civilians in the north of the country. Therefore, by late 1987 to early 1988, a civilian resistance movement led by Alice Auma was formed. Auma did not pick up arms against the central government; her members carried sticks and stones. She believed she

17780-457: The rebel LRA and NRA government. The rebels asked for a general amnesty for their combatants and to "return home", but the government stance was hampered by disagreement over the credibility of the LRA negotiators and political infighting. At a meeting in January 1994, Kony asked for six months to regroup his troops but by early February, the tone of the negotiations was growing increasingly bitter and

17920-472: 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. A total of 3,500 troops for ONUC had arrived in the Congo by 20 July 1960. The first contingent of Belgian forces had left Leopoldville on 16 July upon the arrival of

18060-475: The seven groupements. In addition to these units, a tank battalion was reported to have formed by 1979. In January 1979 General de Division Mosambaye Singa Boyenge was named as both military region commander and Region Commissioner for Shaba. In 1984, a militarised police force, the Civil Guard , was formed. It was eventually commanded by Général d'armée Kpama Baramoto Kata . Thomas Turner wrote in

18200-522: The three LRA commanders Okot Odhiambo and Raska Lukwiya , deputy army commanders, and Dominic Ongwen , brigade commander of the Sania Brigade of the LRA. The five LRA leaders were charged with crimes against humanity and war crimes, including murder, rape, and sexual slavery. Ongwen was the only of the five not charged with recruiting child soldiers. The warrants were filed under seal; public redacted versions were released on 13 October 2005. These were

18340-514: The true masters of the army are not known. It is strategic. Please, let us drop the matter.' Kabila's new Forces armées congolaises were riven with internal tensions. The new FAC had Banyamulenge fighters from South Kivu, kadogo child soldiers from various eastern tribes, such as Thierry Nindaga, Safari Rwekoze, etc... [the mostly] Lunda Katangese Tigers of the former FNLC , and former FAZ personnel. Mixing these disparate and formerly warring elements together led to mutiny. On 23 February 1998,

18480-420: The two Kivu provinces, Orientale Province would form the second region, and Maniema and Kasai-Oriental provinces the third. Katanga and Équateur would fall under the fourth and fifth regions, respectively, while Kasai-Occidental and Bandundu would form the sixth region. Kinshasa and Bas-Congo would form the seventh and eighth regions, respectively. In November 1999 the Government attempted to form

18620-567: The war in 2002–2003. The December 2002 Global and All-Inclusive Agreement devoted Chapter VII to the armed forces. It stipulated that the armed forces chief of staff, and the chiefs of the army, air force, and navy were not to come from the same warring faction. The new "national, restructured and integrated" army would be made up from Kabila's government forces (the FAC), the RCD, and the MLC. Also stipulated in VII(b)

18760-522: Was adjutant , which only four soldiers achieved before independence. Though 14 Congolese cadets were enrolled in the Royal Military Academy in Brussels in May, they were not scheduled to graduate as second lieutenants until 1963. Ill-advised actions by Belgian officers led to an enlisted ranks' rebellion on 5 July 1960, which helped spark the Congo Crisis . Lieutenant General Émile Janssens ,

18900-431: Was an important factor behind the FAC's poor performance, with soldiers frequently going unpaid and unfed while the Government purchased advanced weaponry which could not be operated or maintained. The defeats in 2000 are believed to have been the cause of President Kabila's assassination in January 2001. Following the assassination, Joseph Kabila assumed the presidency and was eventually successful in negotiating an end to

19040-425: Was announced on 19 August 2003 as the first move in military reform, superimposed on top of the various groups of fighters, government and former rebels. Negotiations had been ongoing since June 2003. Kabila was able to name the armed forces chief of staff, Lieutenant General Liwanga Mata , who previously served as navy chief of staff under Laurent Kabila. Kabila was able to name the air force commander ( John Numbi ),

19180-455: Was in and around Kinshasa: the 31st Airborne Brigade was deployed at N'djili Airport on the outskirts of the capital; the Special Presidential Division (DSP) resided adjacent to the presidential compound; and the 1st Armoured Brigade was at Mbanza-Ngungu (in Bas-Congo , approximately 120 kilometres (75 mi) southwest of Kinshasa). Finally the 41st Commando Brigade was at Kisangani . This superficially impressive list of units overstates

19320-515: Was inspired by the Holy Spirit of God. Auma portrayed herself as a prophet who received messages from the Holy Spirit and expressed the belief that the Acholi could defeat the Museveni government. She preached that her followers should cover their bodies with shea nut oil as protection from bullets, never take cover or retreat in battle, and never kill snakes or bees. Joseph Kony would later preach

19460-616: Was that the RCD -N, RCD-ML, and the Mai-Mai would become part of the new armed forces. An intermediate mechanism for physical identification of the soldiers, and their origin, date of enrolment, and unit was also called for (VII(c)). It also provided for the creation of a Conseil Superieur de la Defense (Superior Defence Council) which would declare states of siege or war and give advice on security sector reform, disarmament/demobilization, and national defence policy. A decision on which factions were to name chiefs of staff and military regional commanders

19600-419: Was that this domination of politics in Uganda by the northerners was no longer acceptable and had to end. This suggested that until the objective of removing the northerners from power had been achieved and all threats from those quarters removed, the war in the north had to continue. In 2012, scholar Mahmood Mamdani argued that "[t]he reason why the LRA continues is that its victims—the civilian population of

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