The Congolese National Liberation Front (french: Front de libération nationale congolaise, FLNC) is a political party funded by rebels of Katangese origin and composed of ex-members of the

Katangese Gendarmerie The Katangese Gendarmerie (french: Gendarmerie Katangaise), officially the Katangese Armed Forces (french: Forces Armées Katangaises, links=no), was the paramilitary force of the unrecognized State of Katanga in Central Africa from 1960 to 1963. ...

. It was active mainly in

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

and

Zaire Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire was, ...

during the 1970s. The FLNC was formed in Angola under the leadership of Nathaniel Mbumba, with the goal of expelling

Mobutu Sese Seko Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu Wa Za Banga (; born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu; 14 October 1930 – 7 September 1997) was a Congolese politician and military officer who was the president of Zaire from 1965 to 1997 (known as the Democratic Republic o ...

, the leader of Zaire. The FLNC is best known for its two attempted invasions of Katanga Province (renamed Shaba) in Zaire in 1977 and 1978. These incursions, which threatened Mobutu's regime, sparked two international wars,

Shaba I Shaba I was a conflict in Zaire's Shaba (Katanga) Province lasting from March 8 to May 26, 1977. The conflict began when the Front for the National Liberation of the Congo (FNLC), a group of about 2,000 Katangan Congolese soldiers who were vete ...

and

Shaba II Shaba II was a brief conflict fought in the Zairean province of Shaba (now Katanga) in 1978. The conflict broke out on 11 May 1978 after 6,500 rebels from the Congolese National Liberation Front (FNLC), a Katangese separatist militia, crossed t ...

, further complicating the

Angolan Civil War The Angolan Civil War ( pt, Guerra Civil Angolana) was a civil war in Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with interludes, until 2002. The war immediately began after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. The war was ...

. The FLNC became a member of the political life of Zaire after the year 1991, and then later a member of the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

Foundation

The FLNC originated as the

, the military of the secessionist

State of Katanga The State of Katanga; sw, Inchi Ya Katanga) also sometimes denoted as the Republic of Katanga, was a breakaway state that proclaimed its independence from Congo-Léopoldville on 11 July 1960 under Moise Tshombe, leader of the local ''Co ...

during the

Congo Crisis The Congo Crisis (french: Crise congolaise, link=no) was a period of political upheaval and conflict between 1960 and 1965 in the Republic of the Congo (today the Democratic Republic of the Congo). The crisis began almost immediately after ...

. After the defeat of the Katanga Secession, many of the black Katanga troops were forced into exile in

Portuguese Angola Portuguese Angola refers to Angola during the historic period when it was a territory under Portuguese rule in southwestern Africa. In the same context, it was known until 1951 as Portuguese West Africa (officially the State of West Africa). I ...

in the mid-1960s. Led by Nathaniel Mbumba, they fought for the

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

colonial power during the

Angolan War of Independence The Angolan War of Independence (; 1961–1974), called in Angola the ("Armed Struggle of National Liberation"), began as an uprising against forced cultivation of cotton, and it became a multi-faction struggle for the control of Portugal ...

and eventually formed the FLNC in 1967. After the defeat of the Portuguese in 1974, they joined the victorious

MPLA The People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola ( pt, Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola, abbr. MPLA), for some years called the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola – Labour Party (), is an Angolan left-wing, social d ...

. The FLNC did not have any political program other than ending Mobutu's grip on Zaire. FLNC troops were said to have been trained by

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

n advisers. The FLNC was formed in Angola under the leadership of Nathaniel Mbumba with the goal of expelling Mobutu Sese Seko, the leader of Zaire.

Shaba I

The FLNC, numbering about 1500 people, invaded Shaba (the new name of the Katanga) from eastern Angola on 7 March 1977. Seeking to overthrow Mobutu, the FLNC quickly captured

Kolwezi Kolwezi or Kolwesi is the capital city of Lualaba Province in the south of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, west of Likasi. It is home to an airport and a railway to Lubumbashi. Just outside of Kolwezi there is the static inverter plant of ...

Kasaji Kasaji is a city and administrative district in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is located in the province of Lualaba Province, Lualaba, in the southern part of the country, 1100 km southeast of the capital Kinshasa. The region surrounding Kas ...

, and Mutshatsha. Mobutu appealed to

William Eteki William Aurélien Eteki Mboumoua (20 October 1933 – 26 October 2016) was a Cameroonian political figure and diplomat. He had a long career as a minister in the government of Cameroon; from 1961 to 1968, he was Minister of National Education, a ...

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

, Chairman of the

Organization of African Unity The Organisation of African Unity (OAU; french: Organisation de l'unité africaine, OUA) was an intergovernmental organization established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with 32 signatory governments. One of the main heads for OAU's ...

, for assistance on 2 April. The French government airlifted 1,500 Moroccan troops into

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one o ...

on 10 April. The French reinforcements worked in conjunction with the

Zairian Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: Forces armées de la république démocratique du Congo ARDC is the state organisation responsible for defending the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The FARDC was rebuilt pat ...

to beat back the FLNC with air cover from

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

ian pilots flying French-built FAZ

Dassault Mirage 5 The Dassault Mirage 5 is a French supersonic attack aircraft designed by Dassault Aviation during the 1960s and manufactured in France and a number of other countries. It was derived from Dassault's popular Mirage III fighter and spawned sever ...

fighter jets. The Egyptian-Moroccan force pushed the last of the militants, along with several refugees, into Angola and Zambia by April.Schraeder, Peter J. ''United States Foreign Policy Toward Africa: Incrementalism, Crisis and Change'', 199. Pages 87-88.Constantine Panos Danopoulos and Cynthia Ann Watson. ''The Political Role of the Military: An International Handbook'', 1996. Page 451.Julius Omozuanvbo Ihonvbere, and John Mukum Mbaku. ''Political Liberalization and Democratization in Africa: Lessons from Country Experiences'', 2003. Page 228.Tanca, Antonio. ''Foreign Armed Intervention in Internal Conflict'', 1993. Page 169.

Shaba II

During the Shaba II intervention, 4000 rebels took the city of

. Nathaniel Mbumba reportedly lost control of his troops, and they began executing European and Zairean civilians. Most of the regulars soon retreated. The irregulars were driven back into the

Angolan People's Republic The People's Republic of Angola () was the self-declared socialist state which governed Angola from its independence in 1975 until 25 August 1992, during the Angolan Civil War. History The regime was established in 1975, after Portuguese An ...

after the French Foreign Legion intervention during the

Battle of Kolwezi The Battle of Kolwezi was an airborne operation by French and Belgian airborne forces that took place in May 1978 in Zaire during the Shaba II invasion of Zaire by the Front for the National Liberation of the Congo (FLNC). It aimed at rescuing E ...

Later actions

Mbumba was expelled from the party in 1987. In 1990, Mobutu began a process to restore multi partyism. The FLNC was legalized in 1991 and its members came back to Zaire. During the

First Congo War The First Congo War, group=lower-alpha (1996–1997), also nicknamed Africa's First World War, was a civil war and international military conflict which took place mostly in Zaire (present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo), with major spillo ...

, the FLNC fought on the side of the Zairian army due to shared opposition to the presence of Rwandan troops in Zaire, but subsequently became favourable to the AFDL rebels led by

Laurent-Désiré Kabila Laurent-Désiré Kabila () (27 November 1939 – 18 January 2001) or simply Laurent Kabila ( US: ), was a Congolese revolutionary and politician who was the third President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1997 until his assassinati ...

. The FLNC joined the opposition under

Joseph Kabila Joseph Kabila Kabange ( , ; born 4 June 1971) is a Congolese politician who served as President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo between January 2001 and January 2019. He took office ten days after the assassination of his father, Presi ...

's presidency.

Notes

References

* {{Authority control African and Black nationalist organizations in Africa Rebel groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo History of Katanga Zaire Political parties in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Expatriate military units and formations