This article is about the specific polity Republic of Zaire and therefore only includes events related to its territory and not to its possessions or colonies. If you are interested in the possession, this is the link to the article about the nation which includes all possessions as well as all the different incarnations of the nation.
If you are looking for the page with the statistics about this polity you can find it here:All Statistics
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.
Establishment
October 1971: After Joseph Désiré Mobutu, commander-in-chief of the national army, seized control of the country, it became the Republic of Zaire in 1971.
Chronology
Interactive Chronologies with maps are available in the section Changes Navigation
Is a series of wars in the Democratic Republic of the Congo that started shortly after its independence from Belgium in 1960. The conflicts, that continue to this day, mainly consist of revolts against the central government caused by local ethnic secessionist movements.
1.1.Shaba invasions
Were two invasions of the Congolese province of Shaba (now Katanga) by rebels from the Congolese National Liberation Front (FNLC) located in Angola. The aim of the invasion was the secession of the province from Congo.
1.1.1.Shaba I
Was a conflict in Zaire's Shaba (Katanga) Province. The conflict began when the Front for the National Liberation of the Congo (FNLC) crossed the border into Shaba from Angola.
1.1.2.Shaba II
Was a brief conflict fought in the Zairean province of Shaba. 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 into Zaire in an attempt to achieve the province's secession from the Zairian regime.
1.2.First Congo War
Was a civil war in Zaire (modern-day Democratic Republic of the Congo) that culminated in a foreign invasion that replaced Zairean president Mobutu Sese Seko with the rebel leader Laurent-Désiré Kabila.
May 1997: Zaire collapsed in the 1990s, amid the destabilization of the eastern parts of the country in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide and growing ethnic violence. In 1996, Laurent-Désiré Kabila, the head of the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (AFDL) militia, led a popular rebellion against Mobutu. With rebel forces successfully making gains beyond the east, Mobutu fled the country, leaving Kabila's forces in charge as the country restored its name to the Democratic Republic of the Congo the following year.
1.2.1.AFDL Conquest of Congo
Was the military invasion by the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire (AFDL), an alliance of African states and military groups that ended the regime of Mobutu Sese Soko in Zaire (modern-day Democratic Republic of the Congo).
October 1996: AFDL conquest of Uvira.
October 1996: AFDL conquest of Bukavu.
November 1996: AFDL conquest of Goma.
November 1996: AFDL conquest of Butembo.
December 1996: AFDL conquest of Bunia.
January 1997: AFDL conquest of Watsa.
February 1997: AFDL conquest of Isiro.
February 1997: AFDL conquest of Kalemie.
March 1997: AFDL conquest of Kindu.
March 1997: AFDL conquest of Kisangani.
March 1997: AFDL conquest of Kananga.
April 1997: AFDL conquest of Mbuji-Mayi.
April 1997: AFDL conquest of Kamina.
April 1997: AFDL conquest of Lubumbashi.
April 1997: AFDL conquest of Bumba.
May 1997: AFDL conquest of Kenge.
May 1997: AFDL conquest of Mbandaka.
May 1997: AFDL conquest of Kinshasa.
Disestablishment
January 1997: AFDL conquest of Watsa.
February 1997: AFDL conquest of Isiro.
February 1997: AFDL conquest of Kalemie.
March 1997: AFDL conquest of Kindu.
March 1997: AFDL conquest of Kisangani.
March 1997: AFDL conquest of Kananga.
April 1997: AFDL conquest of Mbuji-Mayi.
April 1997: AFDL conquest of Kamina.
April 1997: AFDL conquest of Lubumbashi.
April 1997: AFDL conquest of Bumba.
May 1997: AFDL conquest of Kenge.
May 1997: AFDL conquest of Mbandaka.
May 1997: AFDL conquest of Kinshasa.
May 1997: Zaire collapsed in the 1990s, amid the destabilization of the eastern parts of the country in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide and growing ethnic violence. In 1996, Laurent-Désiré Kabila, the head of the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (AFDL) militia, led a popular rebellion against Mobutu. With rebel forces successfully making gains beyond the east, Mobutu fled the country, leaving Kabila's forces in charge as the country restored its name to the Democratic Republic of the Congo the following year.
Selected Sources
Der Spiegel 19/1997 p. 146
Der Spiegel 7/1997 p. 128
Der Spiegel 45/1996 p. 167
Johnson, D. (2009): Kongo, Kriege, Korruption und die Kunst des Überlebens, Frankfurt am Main (Germany)
Stearns, J. (2012): Dancing in the Glory of Monsters, London (UK)
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Republic of Zaire
