The Congo Crisis
The Congo Crisis (1960-1965) engulfed the newly independent state almost immediately. The army mutinied, Katanga and South Kasai seceded with Belgian support, and a UN peacekeeping force was deployed. Prime Minister Lumumba's appeal for Soviet assistance alarmed Washington and Brussels; he was deposed, handed to Katangan authorities and murdered in January 1961. Colonel Mobutu, backed by the US and Belgium, ultimately seized full power in 1965, beginning a 32-year dictatorship. The crisis became one of the Cold War's defining African battlegrounds.
- Year: 1960 CE
- Category: Civil War
