Second Congo War 1998-2003 Africa's world war

Odom, Thomas P. Journey Into Darkness: Genocide in Rwanda. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2005. (Price - $18.96 Paperback on Amazon.com)

Marine officers are taught that the two most important components of any operations order are the commander’s intent and mission statement. Above all else, each statement should be clear and concise so as to leave the recipient with no doubt as to what must be accomplished. In 1994, at the height of a humanitarian crisis in Goma, Zaire, LTC Thomas Odom, an Africa Foreign Area Officer, was told by his superiors – “We must stop the dying,” and thus tasked to “stop the dying.” Though clear and concise, these provided little true guidance as he tried to assess the needs of over one million Rwandan refugees escaping violent retribution in front of the steadily advancing Rwandan Patriotic Front as it consolidated its victory in the Rwandan Civil War. Did his superiors really want him to provide humanitarian assistance to the former Rwandan Army that had just been defeated, yet was still heavily armed? Was he to provide relief to the Interhamwe or Impuzamugambi militias and their collaborators who had just raped and murdered in excess of 800,000 Rwandans? Was he required to disarm the groups as a precondition to assistance? And finally, how was he to complete his mission without creating the perception of providing aide and comfort to thousands who just committed genocide? In his book Journey Into Darkness: Genocide in Rwanda, Thomas Odom provides a first-person account of the planning difficulties and selected courses of actions associated with Operation Support Hope (Goma, Zaire 1994) and follow-on operations associated with the Rwandan Genocide.
Over the past several years, we in the military have witnessed what some have labeled “a new-type” or “irregular” warfare, one in which there are multiple non-state competitors on the battlefield, the environment and root causes of grievance poorly defined and understood, and one in which religious, ethnic, and tribal affiliations matter more and more. However, Odom demonstrates that all of these and other problems that confront us today in Iraq or Afghanistan, whether interagency difficulties, the presence of militias, or the absence of necessary infrastructure, were present in Rwanda and Zaire in 1993-1994. By detailing the efforts that reconciled the limited means at his disposal with the policy goals or ends of Operation Restore Hope, Odom makes this book a must read for all attempting to better understand operational art, planning, and the Great Lakes Region of Africa. Not only is Journey Into Darkness an easy and compelling read, but at 277 pages, one can finish it over a weekend. For a more complete understanding of operational art in the context of the Rwanda Genocide and United Nations Assistance Mission Rwanda (UNAMIR), Odom’s book is a wonderful complement to Lieutenant General Romeo Dallaire’s Shake Hands With The Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda. Journey Into Darkness: Genocide in Rwanda is a must read for all planners, foreign area officers, and those attempting to better understand the Great Lakes Region of Africa.

Thank you, Adam, for the kind words. Hopefully you now fully understand why I value NCOs like Stan Reber and Mickey Dunham as team mates and brothers.

For anyone who happens to be at Fort Leavenworth these days--I was up there just this week and signed the copies in the book store.

Again Adam

Thanks and best regards

Tom

Tom mentioned leadership in the PhD thread. In sum, in order for a good NCO to function, means that NCO had a good Officer.

Tom,

I'm currently doing research on this war and detailed military information on the war is quite sparse(as with most of the modern post colonial African wars) and I heard you were in a front row position during the war(U.S. embassy in Kinshasa) and I have a few questions:

1. Was the Second Congo war mainly between A Tutsi dominated Rebel movement vs. a Hutu dominated Congo government with the minor ethnic groups going for either side?

2. How big were the military commitments by the foreign African countries involved?

My info was that the Ugandans and Rwandans had large numbers of troops in the Congo supporting the Rebs but the Rwandans was in the forefront of spearheading reb attacks while the Ugandans were largely confined to the North East. On the Gov side, the Zimbabewean and Angolan militaries had the most troops but were restricted to the west. The Rebs had no or little air support and the gov side had some air support, mainly from the Zimbabwean and Angolan air forces(piloted by foreign mercs).

3. How bad was the siege of Kinsasha?

From the info I have, Kinsasha resembed Beirut though I think only the outer parts of Kinsasha was under siege.

4. What did you think of the quality of the combatants invovled?

I did read that the Rwandans had the best quality troops among the combatants and the Angolan, Zimbabwean and Ugandan troops were the best equiped(they had the tanks and vehicles etc.).

5. What did combat look like on the ground? Was it guerilla mobile combat?

I read that combat was similiar to the Ethiopia Eritea war, something like World war 1 without the extensive trenchlines(combat happened when assaults on enemy fixed positions rather than mobile battles).

6. What books would you recomend on the war?

I have War Dog by Al Venter which I thought was good while being sparse and i read the book by Thomas Turner which I thought was also quite sparse.

Kenyatta,

Happy to help where I can but first a bit of bio and interests from you would be helpful. You can introduce yourself here and offer such information.

Second, give us a better feel of where you are in your research and what is your purpose/intent in doing this research. What level are you at in your schooling, professional career, etc?

Meanwhile I will work up answers to some of your questions.

Tom

Excellent stuff.

This is a link to my post in introducing myself:

http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/...6896#post46896

Look forward to your posts.

Quote:

---

Tom,

I'm currently doing research on this war and detailed military information on the war is quite sparse(as with most of the modern post colonial African wars) and I heard you were in a front row position during the war(U.S. embassy in Kinshasa) and I have a few questions:

---

First understand that I left Zaire as DATT in Sep 94 to go to Rwanda: see my memoirs for that experience. What happened 94-96 played a large role in the 98-2003 conflict. Good source of 96-98 insights is Ambassador (ret) Robert Gribbin's book. He was my second ambassador in Rwanda. Also google Richard Orth who was the DIA analyst on the Great Lakes for the 93-96 time frame and then replaced me as DATT in 96. He then went to Uganda as DATT. He has some articles out on Rwanda you can find on the web.

Quote:

---

1. Was the Second Congo war mainly between A Tutsi dominated Rebel movement vs. a Hutu dominated Congo government with the minor ethnic groups going for either side?

---

I would have to say that while Hutu and Tutsi affiliations played a role in this conflict, they were not center stage of the war. The war as it played out between Congolese elements was more a repeat of the very same tensions that erupted in the 1964 Simba rebellion--indeed some of the same players and their progeny were involved. For that conflict as a background look at LP#14. You cannot understand the 98-2003 conflict in the Congo without looking at the 1960-1998 period. The same must be said about Rwanda and the Hutu/Tutsi issue. To fully get the latter you must look even earlier. See books below.

Quote:

---

2. How big were the military commitments by the foreign African countries involved?

My info was that the Ugandans and Rwandans had large numbers of troops in the Congo supporting the Rebs but the Rwandans was in the forefront of spearheading reb attacks while the Ugandans were largely confined to the North East. On the Gov side, the Zimbabewean and Angolan militaries had the most troops but were restricted to the west. The Rebs had no or little air support and the gov side had some air support, mainly from the Zimbabwean and Angolan air forces(piloted by foreign mercs).

---

Again I was not there and my info is limited. Mercs started showing up in varying capacities in 95 and the practice continued. Your information sounds about right. You can find more on this conflict at USIP.

Quote:

---

3. How bad was the siege of Kinsasha?

From the info I have, Kinsasha resembed Beirut though I think only the outer parts of Kinsasha was under siege.

---

I believe that is a complete overstatement. K-Town was a cesspool before the war because of 2 pillages in 91 and 93. Michela Wrong's somewhat fluffy book In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz paints a very different picture, one that I find completely believable. A siege requires defenders who fight back--the FAZ disintegrated.

Quote:

---

4. What did you think of the quality of the combatants invovled?

I did read that the Rwandans had the best quality troops among the combatants and the Angolan, Zimbabwean and Ugandan troops were the best equiped(they had the tanks and vehicles etc.).

---

See my memoirs on the Rwandans and the FAZ.

Quote:

---

5. What did combat look like on the ground? Was it guerilla mobile combat?

I read that combat was similiar to the Ethiopia Eritea war, something like World war 1 without the extensive trenchlines(combat happened when assaults on enemy fixed positions rather than mobile battles).

---

I don't believe that at all. The Rwandans never accepted stalemate and would always go to the flanks (or rear via infiltration). My contacts said that the real issue was walking all that way to K-Town. Once the Zims and Angolans got involved things got more intense.

Quote:

---

6. What books would you recomend on the war?

I have War Dog by Al Venter which I thought was good while being sparse and i read the book by Thomas Turner which I thought was also quite sparse.

---

Madeleine Kalb, The Congo Cables. This book offers an embassy and State department inside view of the Congo Crisis from 1960-1963 during JFK's administration. Available on Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/002...g=UTF8&s=books


Thomas P. Odom, Leavenworth Paper #14 Dragon Operations: Hostage Rescues in the Congo 1964-1964. "The Dragon operations in the Congo-Dragon Rouge and Dragon Noir-were the first, and in many ways the most complex, hostage rescue missions of the cold war, Aimed at securing the release of nearly 2,000 European residents taken hostage during the Simba Rebellion in 1964, American aircraft projected a Belgian airborne unit thousands of miles into the heart of Africa. The planning and execution of this mission required the operational cooperation of three nations and their military forces in order to synchronize the arrival of airborne and ground forces to assault a hostile objective. At stake- as usual, and unfortunately- were the lives of innocent men, women, and children." This study though focused on the rescue of hostages in Stanleyville in is set in a counter insurgency war. It examines the rescue in political, military, and social terms against that COIN background. You can read it on line at http://www-cgsc.army.mil/carl/resour.../odom/odom.asp.

Thomas P. Odom, Shaba II: The French and Belgian Military Intervention in Zaire in 1978. This study "presents a historical analysis of the 1978 invasion of Shaba province by the exiled Katangan Gendarmerie. Included in this study is the Western reaction to the invasion, from the Zairian Army's initial response, which set off the massacre of expatriate mine workers, to the airborne landings of French and Belgian forces. The French responded by sending the Foreign Legion into Shaba to restore order in the province. Belgium, on the other hand, sent its Paracommando Regiment on the humanitarian mission of rescuing the hostages. Both countries developed independent plans for their missions, plans that were not coordinated until the two European forces were accidentally shooting at one another. The 1978 operations in Shaba should not be dismissed as something unusual or unlikely to reoccur, nor should they be discounted as European operations of little interest to U.S. planners. Since these Shaba II operations, the United States has been committed to similar operations in Lebanon, Grenada, Sudan, Somalia, Liberia, Panama, and the Persian Gulf. Without doubt, U.S. forces will continue to be involved in such operations, making Shaba II worthy of study by U.S. Army officers." It also delves heavily into the diplomatic and military efforts of the United States in this crisis. You may read it on line at:
http://www-cgsc.army.mil/carl/resour...dom2/odom2.asp.

Thomas P. Odom, Journey Into Darkness: Genocide in Rwanda with foreword by General (ret) Dennis J. Reimer. This memoir covers the author's 15 years as a Foreign Area Officer on the Middle East and Africa with operational tours as a UN Observer in Lebanon and as US Defense Attaché in Zaire and Rwanda. You may read a chapter from the book at http://www.smallwarsjournal.com/docu...om_journey.htm or order it from TAMU Press at http://www.tamu.edu/upress/BOOKS/2005/odom.htm or on Amazon or other on line bookstores.

Fred E. Wagoner, Dragon Rouge: The Rescue of Hostages in the Congo. This is an excellent political-military study of the hostage crisis. Available on Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/141...g=UTF8&s=books

Robert E. Gribbin, In the Aftermath of Genocide: The U.S. Role in Rwanda. Ambassador Gribbin was the US Ambassador in Rwanda from 1996-1998. Available on Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/059...g=UTF8&s=books

Human Rights Watch and FIDH, Leave None to Tell the Story: Genocide in Rwanda. This study is the most detailed on the planning, mechanics, and execution of the genocide. You may read it on line at: http://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/rwanda/index.htm - TopOfPage

Shaharyar Khan, The Shallow Graves of Rwanda. Ambassador Khan was the senior UN diplomat in UNAMIR 2. It is available on Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/186...g=UTF8&s=books

Mahmood Mamdani, When Victims become Killers. Mamdani's analysis of the genocide as a regional issue is ground breaking. Available on Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/069...g=UTF8&s=books

Gérard Prunier, The Rwanda Crisis: History of a Genocide. Prunier offers a first rate analysis of the French role in the genocide. Available on Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/023...g=UTF8&s=books

Colin M. Waugh, Paul Kagame and Rwanda. As yet this is the closest there is to a biography of Kagame. Available on Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/078...g=UTF8&s=books

Michela Wrong, In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz. Wrong relates the final collapse of Mobutu's Zaire. Available on Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/006...g=UTF8&s=books

Kenyatta,
Check here during the time period you're interested in, the articles were based on wire service reports.
http://www.strategypage.com/qnd/ugan.../20011105.aspx

Thank you very much for the hordes of research materal...:)

According the war Dog, the Rwandan spearheaded offensive towards Kinsasha was aided by airlifts of Rwandan troops to the front in Russian transports. The offensive failed due to the poor supply situation of the rebs and the Zimbabwean and Angolans coming into the fray.

I am quite aware of the seeds of the second Congo war in the Congo Crisis 1960-1965, the fall of Mobutu. Actually the seeds probably go back all the way when Leopold came into the Congo at the turn of the century.

As with other wars, political families, conflicting interests from previous conflicts come back to haunt...my perception originally was that the Tutsi Hutu conflict played a major role in the Second Congo war, probably even fanned the flames more...

Quote:

---

As with other wars, political families, conflicting interests from previous conflicts come back to haunt...my perception originally was that the Tutsi Hutu conflict played a major role in the Second Congo war, probably even fanned the flames more...

---

that it was a catalyst and a math, absolutely. That it was the cause. No.

Global Security has a pretty good write up

You are correct about the 2nd War and the halt of the Rwandans--Gribbin's book is pretty good on that issue. I was thinking of the original march to Kinshasa. In any case, I would not describe it as Beirut.

hope it helps and welcome to SWJ

Tom

Glad to contribute, all enhances my knowledge too.

Another fallout of the Second Congo War is the current troubles in Zimbabwe.

Mugabe bankrupted Zimbabwe even more and practically crippled the Zim Air force such as it was(due to bad losses during the war).

Mugabe and his cronies were probably the only ones who made money from war(nothing went to the Zimbabwean people except for body bags).

Zimbabwe's Air Force took losses, but IIRC their effectiveness dropped off due to mechanical attrition, parts and fuel costs. For an overview of the air war, see
http://www.acig.org/artman/publish/article_190.shtml

Mugabe pimped out some of the 'blood diamond' profits to the Chinese for F7s and Beijing is still bound to Zimbabwe. That's both good and bad, for Mugabe.
http://www.frontline.org.za/articles..._In_Africa.htm

See also
http://www.foreignaffairs.org/200805...ith-congo.html

Kenyatta, welcome aboard !

Some more light reading regarding Zimbabwe's involvement in the DR Congo war

Congo War and the Role of Coltan

and approx. 24 related links under Warfare and Conflict: Specific Conflicts: Great Lakes

Regards, Stan

Kenyatta,

About ZIM economical involvement in DRC do some research about Mr Billy Rautenbach:

"For reasons of alliance and payment of the war bill estimated at US $45 million, Kabila had signed an agreement between the "GECAMINES" and the Zimbabwean company Ridgepointe Overseas Developments of British Virgin Islands, which belongs to the RAUTENBACH family. The latter has good relations with President Mugabe, who, in turn, feels very close to the rich cobalt reserves of Katanga. This guarantees and helps to justify the presence of the Zimbabwean military in DRC, next to Kabila.

Billy RAUTENBAUCH, who is the Director of this Zimbabwean group, Ridgepointe, is currently leading the GECAMINES recovery committee. This confirms the fierce involvement of Zimbabwe in the resistance put up by DRC in the war led against the Ugandans, Rwandese and Burundians and their Congolese collaborators." in http://www.geocities.com/zcliste/mine2.htm.
He is still active. :wry:

Another link is the "Osleg" company: a ZAF operated company that was very active in DRC.

Finally, "A detachment of the Zimbabwean Presidential Guard is now providing close security for the youthful Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) President, Joseph Kabila. It is not known why General Kabila has decided to put his life into the hands of the Zimbabwean National Army (ZNA) rather than those of Congolese nationals." in http://www.afrika.no/Detailed/10159.html

Hope it will help.

hi man..

i think you are doing a great job over here...

i am very much proud in taking part of this program..

surely i will tell some suggestions regarding making some peaceful world;)

I shared this review with some other Rwanda watchers.

Quote:

---

Oxford University Press Enters the Tabloid Market

A review of:
Africa's World War: Congo, the Rwandan Genocide, and the Making of a Continental Catastrophe

by Gerard Prunier. Published by Oxford University Press, 2008.

Reviewed by: Thomas (Tom) P. Odom

LTC US Army (ret)

Author, Journey Into Darkness: Genocide In Rwanda

In early 1994 while serving as the US Defense Attaché in Kinshasa, Zaire I had an unexpected visitor, a Zairian army lieutenant colonel who told the Marine Security Guard that he had “urgent business” to discuss with “le Colonel Odom.” Since he knew my name, I asked my NCO, Stan, to go get him. As I sat down with my visitor, I signaled Stan to stay and listen.

The Zairian began with a blast against US perfidy, imperialism, and assorted rot until I asked him to explain what had him all excited. Swelling even more, he proclaimed he had written proof that the US had secretly invaded Zaire in the 1970s. Intrigued I asked him to show me and he handed me a dog-eared copy of Michael Crichton’s novel, Congo.

Crichton’s book began with a introduction that treated a fictional infiltration of the Congo in 1979 as fact to entice a would be reader. Central to the story was a heretofore unknown breed of super apes who would wreck havoc on the 12-person invasion force.

The literary slight of hand worked on the Zairian colonel, so well in fact that he then tried to blackmail me with a threat to go public. He was crushed when I told him that a movie made from the book was already available. I offered to find him a copy but offered no cash. He left no doubt in search of further conspiracies whose revelation might help his cash flow.

Reading Gerard Prunier’s latest book, Africa’s World War, made me feel like I had that Zairian colonel back in my office. A tale of dark conspiracy woven with incompetence made me wonder if there was indeed a fictional Congo with an eastern neighbor, Rwanda, out there. Prunier’s writings suggest there has to be a parallel universe. Certainly there are elements of recognizable truth involved in Prunier’s tale if you have the regional expertise to recognize them. Without a firm grounding in the region, however, one risks being fooled just like the Zairian colonel back in 1994.

---

I remain amazed that a university press--especially Oxford University Press--went to print with this.

Tom

then again I am not sure which book this guy read:

Quote:

---

From Genocide to Continental War: The 'Congolese' Conflict and the Crisis of Contemporary Africa by Gerard Prunier

This remarkable book sets out to explain the way in which the 1994 Rwandan genocide triggered what is sometimes termed “Africa's first world war”, the conflict in the Congo basin that sucked Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Angola, Namibia and Zimbabwe into war, and ultimately saw the overthrow of the Mobutu regime in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) and the death of 4m people.

The book is remarkable not just because Gérard Prunier, who has spent his life studying African conflicts, is able to call on every academic discipline required to comprehend this gigantic disaster, but also because he was an eyewitness to much of it himself, and frequently has telling details to offer about the behaviour and motivation of key individuals. He writes, moreover, with a verve, sophistication and wit equalled, in my experience, only by fellow French intellectual Régis Debray.

---

Remarkable....

Tom

Hey Tom,
Following your correspondence I began to laugh at Prunier's purported naivety but minutes later reading about a shameful DOD, Black American SOF incognito (didn't know we had that many Swahili and Lingala speakers - being one myself), just what he thinks FMS and FMF programs do, and, the cherry on top, what RONCO did and still does around the globe.

Thick !

Perhaps had you sent him a free copy of your book (this assumes he would read it if it were free of charge), he could have cleared up a few misnomers. Glad you saved me the 20 bucks and the pathetic read :p

Stan

He later says that another group of 100+ African-American, drug dealing, sexually deviate, less than honorably discharged former US Army soldiers were brought in for the 2nd war. Supposedly they were split-based at Bukavu and Iwawa (Wahu) island. He refers to Iwawa as a "former Peace Corps camp"; maybe it was much much earlier but in 1995 it was the rebel base the RPA cleared. I cannot imagine trying to use it as a rear base for operations in South Kivu but hey I am not Prunier. Here is a shot of the beach and the only buildings on the island. The map is a scan Ross Johnson and I used to plot our findings on in November 1995.

best

Tom

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Tom Odom

Stan

He later says that another group of 100+ African-American, drug dealing, sexually deviate, less than honorably discharged former US Army soldiers were brought in for the 2nd war. Supposedly they were split-based at Bukavu and Iwawa (Wahu) island. He refers to Iwawa as a "former Peace Corps camp"; maybe it was much much earlier but in 1995 it was the rebel base the RPA cleared. I cannot imagine trying to use it as a rear base for operations in South Kivu but hey I am not Prunier. Here is a shot of the beach and the only buildings on the island. The map is a scan Ross Johnson and I used to plot our findings on in November 1995.

best

Tom

---

There was actually some kind of PC camp on the island in the mid 80s (we took a few FMF Swiftships for a spin and got an "up close and personal" view of "going native" :D)

Two things come to mind looking at this map of the grands lacs

Why in God's name I let you talk me into the trip along the western frontier :wry:

and, why Prunier and countless others never bothered reading open sources such as VAO, the Washington College of Law's field reports or even the Rwanda Gateway (since he wouldn't read your book).

Well, there is one more thing... Tom, can you swim ? ;)

I read the review on the blog and really liked it (the review, that is!). It's not exactly comforting to know that such shoddy research can slip through all the publishing and editorial hoops.

This is a fantastic book. Well-written, informative, provocative and even (gasp!) entertaining.
LTC Tom Odom was the Defense Attache in Kinshasa during the Rwandan genocide in 1994. When Rwandan refugees began pouring over the border into Zaire, Odom was sent to Goma as leader of the American embassy team. He saw first-hand the appalling conditions of the humanitarian crisis, as well as the political challenges of any attempts to address it. Many of the refugees were Hutu genocidaires, some of them still armed. After for the most part ignoring the Rwandan genocide, international attention now focused on the camps, where the persecutors were seen as victims.
Odom’s primary mission was to “stop the killing.” But that was impossible. Odom predicted the violence would spill over into the Congo and possibly provoke a region-wide conflict. That prediction sadly proved to be true. Whether or not the USG could have stopped the Congo War, if Odom’s warnings had been heeded, the U.S. and international community might at least been able to mitigate the violence. Instead, some five million people died.
Odom offers a soldier/scholar’s perspective, one that sees a humanitarian crisis as a logistical and political challenge, without losing sight of the human tragedy. The book should be read by all interested in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Great Lakes conflict, and Sub-Saharan Africa. It is also of interest to the Small Wars community, as the Congo War is one of the more complex and challenging conflicts of our time. And Journey Into Darkness is simply a great read. Odom has a gift for telling stories. He has a sense of humor that is never glib or disrespectful. His style is honest and hard-earned, the voice of a man who knows who knows who he is, and isn't afraid of the truth.

It'd be interesting to see an uncensored account of Zim's participation in the Pan-African War over in the DRC.

Some tidbits -
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/zi...s-1081163.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/611898.stm

https://mg.co.za/article/2004-09-11-...war-in-the-drc

Adam G asked:

Quote:

---

It'd be interesting to see an uncensored account of Zim's participation in the Pan-African War over in the DRC.

---

I don't recall such an account yet, this book might help (which I have not read):http://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/...des-go-to-war/

This is a 2016 article on an unheard of before website:http://www.thezimbabwean.co/2016/10/...abila-the-drc/

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by AdamG

It'd be interesting to see an uncensored account of Zim's participation in the Pan-African War over in the DRC.

---

Try this one: Great Lakes Conflagration.

It's based on interviews with 5-6 ZDF vets of that war, three Rwandans and few other participants - and is the military history of that conflict.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by CrowBat

Try this one: Great Lakes Conflagration.

It's based on interviews with 5-6 ZDF vets of that war, three Rwandans and few other participants - and is the military history of that conflict.

---

Does your book discuss the death toll of the Second Congo War?

What are your thoughts on the debate over estimates of the toll, which seems to range from less than one million, to over five million.

See here: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/georg..._b_433552.html

I tend to 'touch' such topics, rather generally, but never go 'in-depth' in regards of them - except there is something like 'solid' data. In the case of this war, there was none I would have known as of that time that book was written (which was back in period 2000-2009; mind, it was published 'only' in 2013).

What this book does mention is the ZDF's statistics for certain battles fought in the DRC. For example, the kill-to-loss ratio during the battle of N'Djili was 27:1 (in favour of Zimbabweans).

BTW, this didn't change much for the rest of the war, no matter what calamities the ZDF went through there.

EDIT: That all said, I tend to lean towards those who say the death toll in the II DRC War was much higher than during the Rwandan Civil War (including the Rwandan Genocide of 1994) - and primarily caused by Rwanda. For better understanding of 'how comes' (at least in regards of military affairs), it would be useful for any interested reader to go through 'slightly more'. Namely, thanks to efforts of Adrien Fontanellaz (a Swiss researcher with special skill in extracting most obscure details about various insurgencies in Africa), an entire series covering the inter-related wars in Uganda, Rwanda, and the DRC came into being. This is including four titles, meanwhile:

- Wars and Insurgencies in Uganda, 1971-1994 (guess, this one is self-explaining)

- Rwandan Patriotic Front, 1990-1994 (this is actually the story of the entire war in Rwanda, from how comes so many Tutsis ended as refugees in Uganda of early 1960s, via their inclusion in Musewni-lead insurgency, to the flow of combat ops during the Rwandan Civil War, which then culminated in the genocide)

- Great Lakes Holocaust (military history of the I Congo War, or the first Rwandan-Ugandan invasion of the country, in 1996-1997), and the above-mentioned:

- Great Lakes Conflagration.

Adrien and me have some further plans in this regards, but more about that when the time comes.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by CrowBat

Try this one: Great Lakes Conflagration.

It's based on interviews with 5-6 ZDF vets of that war, three Rwandans and few other participants - and is the military history of that conflict.

---

Ooooooooooooooooo, thank you!

Also, check your PMs

Thread reopened to accommodate recent posts in a thread on the Zimbabwe National Army, which sit here far better. Moved to the Historian's arena.

Hattip to Crowbat: Battle of N'Djili

Behind the Scenes: Warlords’ Deadly Battle in Congo
By Keith Harmon Snow*
Toward Freedom
August 9, 2007
http://www.africafederation.net/Behind_Scenes.htm

Quote:

---

The "four-day war" that rocked Kinshasa, the capital city of the Democratic Republic of Congo from March 22-26, 2007 was called a "cleaning" by insiders. Everyone knew it was going to happen, the United Nations Observers Mission in Congo (MONUC) did nothing to stop it and the death count was significantly under-reported. The realities behind the scenes remain cloaked by the international media and world institutions, and the big losers, yet again, are the Congolese people. This is the inside story.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is today both the richest and poorest country in the world. First robbed of its rubber and ivory (1890-1908) by Belgium’s King Leopold—whose enterprise of slavery claimed ten million Congolese lives but was masked by a humanitarian "anti-slavery" propaganda campaign—the plunder of the Congo was advanced by Belgian colonial interests from 1908 to "independence" on June 30, 1960.

---

Quote:

---

Early reports in the international media counted 150 people dead and described the warfare in general terms, absent all revealing details or background. A few days after heavy fighting the German Embassy broke ranks and declared, "up to 600 people killed." The German ambassador told reporters "The military forces that faced Mr. Bemba's militias were too heavy." The German Embassy remains silent about their direct involvement in illegal mining and bloodshed in the eastern Congo however.
War broke out on March 22 but the New York Times went completely silent about events in Congo. Then on March 28, they ran a sizeable front-page feature, "After Congo Vote, Neglect and Scandal Still Reign," focused on "a recent 1200-mile trip across the country" by NYT reporter Jeffrey Gettlemen. "The unruly capital" in Kinshasa, Gettlemen commented in passing, "looks as if a war has been fought in its streets. There has been some violence there, like the periodic clashes between the presidential guard and a militia loyal to Jean-Pierre Bemba, a tycoon, former warlord and unsuccessful candidate for president." The on-going Kinshasa war was relegated to "periodic clashes." As usual there was nothing about political alliances, dirty diamond deals, mercenary ties or the machinations behind the scenes.
Most remarkable were Gettlemen’s misrepresentations of violence in Kinshasa. "But it is not tanks and bombs that have turned the streets into bone-jarring rubble and many elegant buildings into teetering shells," he wrote. "It is neglect and corruption, which persist despite the election."
Reuters reported (March 23) that "heavy gun and mortar fire shook the Congolese capital at first light on Friday in a second day of fighting between government troops and forces of a former rebel leader."(12) This was not reflected in the Gettlemen piece. On March 24, 2007, the Associated Press published a photo of FARDC troops in a tank in front of Bemba’s residence in Kinshasa—refuting the Gentlemen dismissal of heavy weapons. Gettlemen’s long feature in the New York Times filled about 45 column inches, on several pages, with numerous photos of poor people in the bush, and it deflected attention from the conflict in Kinshasa.
Weapons deliveries rolled into Kinshasa from Matadi port between August and October 2006 and the four-day war involved mortars, bombs, tanks and RPG-7 rockets. Some twenty T-55 battle tanks, armored vehicles, and tons of ammunition arrived in Matadi in July 2006, shipped from Europe. There were twenty newly arrived T-72 tanks at Matadi. On August 24-25, FARDC moved seven truckloads of ammunition to Kinshasa. Nine T-55 battle tanks were delivered during the night of September 12. The FARDC logistics base in Kinshasa stored at least twelve T-55 tanks and 20 infantry combat vehicles.(13) The Kabila government and FARDC command did not cooperate with MONUC in verifications or inspections and weapons deliveries to FARDC violated U. N. Security Council resolutions.(14)

---

Bomb the Other Side of the Runway!
Zimbabwe's epic, 1998 defense of a Congolese airport
https://warisboring.com/bomb-the-oth...of-the-runway/

Quote:

---

Anticipating the Rwandan plot, he signed a major deal with Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe. The Zimbabwean Defense Force would deploy a significant troop contingent in the DRC with the aim of monitoring the withdrawal of Rwandan military from the country.
In exchange, Mugabe received official permission to exploit several large mines in the country.
It so happened that in early August 1998, as the Rwandans were hauling their troops and arms from Goma to Kitona — i.e., from eastern to western Congo — the Zimbabweans were doing the same from their home bases, via Zambia, to Kinshasa. That is, from southern to western Congo.
To further increase the irony — many of Rwandan officers had trained in Zimbabwe, which meant that the future belligerents actually knew each other.
The ZDF of the 1990s was a highly professional force. Thus, while Kagame’s hodgepodge of Rwandan and Ugandan troops and Congolese mutineers needed two weeks to reach Kinshasa, by Aug. 22 the ZDF had one squadron of its own Special Air Service, 800 paratroopers, 15 Cascavel armored cars of Brazilian origin, 16 helicopters and eight combat aircraft staging from N’Djili.

---

Yup, up to 200 Rwandan officers and NCOs were trained in Zimbabwe of 1996-1997.

BTW: the story of post-N'Djili operations (which included several 'Fire-Force-style' drops by Zims, though with help of their G-/K-Cars and Angolan Mi-17s), and the 'exfiltration' of Rwandan survivors was something like 'another big adventure' in this campaign...

...and that's not to talk about all the various battles along the upper Congo River, a month or so later...

...or the siege of Ikela, lifted only in 2001...