Shaba II was a brief conflict fought in the
Zaire
Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to 18 May 1997. Located in Central Africa, it was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa after Sudan and Algeria, and the 11th-la ...
an 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 the border from
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...
into Zaire in an attempt to achieve the province's secession from the Zairian regime of
Mobutu Sese Seko
Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa za Banga ( ; born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu; 14 October 1930 – 7 September 1997), often shortened to Mobutu Sese Seko or Mobutu and also known by his initials MSS, was a Congolese politician and military officer ...
. The FNLC captured the important mining town of
Kolwezi.
[Widstrand, Carl Gösta, Timothy M. Shaw, and Douglas George Anglin. ''Canada, Scandinavia, and Southern Africa'', 1978. Page 130.]
Foreign involvement
The Mobutist government appealed for foreign assistance and
French and
Belgian military intervention beat back the invasion,
just as in 1977.
[George, Edward. ''The Cuban Intervention in Angola, 1965-1991: From Che Guevara to Cuito Cuanavale'', 2005. Page 136.]
The U.S. and
Cuba
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
coerced Angola and Zaire into negotiations leading to a non-aggression pact. That ended support for insurgencies in each other's countries. Zaire temporarily cut off support to the
Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda
Front may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''The Front'' (1943 film), a 1943 Soviet drama film
* '' The Front'', 1976 film
Music
* The Front (band), an American rock band signed to Columbia Records and active in the 1980s and ...
(FLEC), the
National Liberation Front of Angola
The National Front for the Liberation of Angola (; abbreviated FNLA) is a political party and former militant organisation that fought for Angolan independence from Portugal in the war of independence, under the leadership of Holden Roberto.
F ...
(FNLA) and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (
UNITA), and Angola forbade further activity by the Shaba separatists.
The U.S. worked with France in repelling the invaders in the first military co-operation between the two since the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
.
elements involved included a
Combat Control Team (air traffic controllers) of the
435th Tactical Airlift Wing, the
445th Airlift Wing, and other airlift wings.
Battle of Kolwezi
The
French Foreign Legion
The French Foreign Legion (, also known simply as , "the Legion") is a corps of the French Army created to allow List of militaries that recruit foreigners, foreign nationals into French service. The Legion was founded in 1831 and today consis ...
's 2 Foreign Paratroop Regiment had 600 troops, who took back Kolwezi after a seven-day battle and airlifted 2,250 European citizens to Belgium but not before the FNLC had massacred 80 Europeans and 200 Africans. In one instance, the FNLC killed 34 European civilians who had hidden in a room. However, Zairean helicopter pilot
Pierre Yambuya claims that many of the civilian deaths were caused by Zairian armed forces, not the FLNC.
[NDAYWELE NZIEM, ISIDORE, Histoire Générale du Congo, p.757 see https://books.google.com/books?id=U47B0mwVU_4C&dq=pierre+yambuya+flnc&pg=PA757]
Conclusion
The FNLC retreated to Zambia and back to Angola, vowing to return. The Zairian armed forces (
Forces Armées Zaïroises) forcibly evicted civilians along Shaba's border with Angola, and Mobutu ordered them to shoot on sight.
[Inside Kolwezi: Toll of Terror](_blank)
5 June 1978. ''Time
Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' magazine
See also
*
Angolan Civil War
The Angolan Civil War () was a civil war in Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with interludes, until 2002. The war began immediately after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. It was a power struggle between two for ...
*
Cuban intervention in Angola
*
Shaba I
References
External links
Shaba II: The French and Belgian Intervention in Zaire in 1978
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaba Ii
Cold War in Africa
1978 in Angola
Civil wars in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Wars involving Belgium
Wars involving France
Conflicts in 1978
1978 in Zaire
Proxy wars
Cold War military history of France
Communism in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Military coups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo