Aftermath Shaba I

1 aftermath

1.1 fnlc
1.2 katanganese
1.3 zaire

aftermath

as faz, france, morocco, egypt, , belgium driving rebels out of zaire, ethio-somali war created international crisis involving united states, safari club, cuba, , soviet union.

in july 1977, mobutu disclosed saudi arabia had provided undisclosed form of aid during conflict.

the fnlc

the fnlc withdrew angola, , possibly zambia, , began regroup attack. group gained many new recruits, , left behind contacts within shaba province.

the katanganese

military terror against lunda people in region (who shared ethnicity gendarmes) led 50,000–70,000 people flee zaire angola. in february 1978, faz entered town of idiofa, killed between 500–3,000 people, hanged fourteen ringleaders , , burnt villages.

zaire

the military reported 219 casualties during course of war.

the poor performance of zaire s military during shaba gave evidence of chronic weaknesses. 1 problem of zairian soldiers in area had not received pay extended periods. senior officers kept money intended soldiers, typifying disreputable , inept senior leadership in faz. result, many soldiers deserted rather fight. others stayed units ineffective.

during months following shaba invasion, mobutu sought solutions military problems had contributed army s dismal performance. foreign minister jean nguza karl-i-bond—the country s second-ranking official, expert on international law, , member of lunda ethnic group—was accused of treason sentenced death, reprieved mobutu, , sentenced life in prison. (he later pardoned , reappointed foreign minister.) former zairian military officer , former governor condemned death in august 1977, charged aiding fnlc. subsequent trials in 1978 implicated 68 military officers, dispensing 19 death penalties , numerous imprisonments.

mobutu reorganized faz, , began training kaymanyola division in kolwezi. training assisted french, belgian, , american military advisors.

in reorganization, mobutu dismissed belgian officer named van melle own intelligence services. van melle key contact european , american intelligence agencies, , dismissal made reliable information harder them find.

mobutu merged military general staff own presidential staff , appointed himself chief of staff again, in addition positions of minister of defence , supreme commander held. redeployed forces throughout country instead of keeping them close kinshasa, had been case. kamanyola division, @ time considered army s best unit , referred president s own, assigned permanently shaba. in addition these changes, army s strength reduced 25%, presumably eliminate disloyal , ineffective elements. zaire s allies provided large influx of military equipment, , belgian, french, , american advisers assisted in rebuilding , retraining force.

shaba major public relations victory mobutu, securing regime , winning continued military , economic assistance western bloc. group of private lenders, led citibank, close delivering $250 million loan in 1978.

the shaba ii conflict began in may 1978.