The Zairian Civil Guard () was a militarised police force in

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 ...

(now

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

), created to support the 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 ...

History

The unit was created in 1984,See Ordonnance-loi No. 84-036 du 28 Aout 1984 portant creation et organisation de la Garde Civile du Zaire, Agence Zaire Presse, 29 August 1984. See also Meitho 2001, 44–49. after fighting between Zairian and

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

n soldiers in the Shaba Province (now

Katanga Province Katanga was one of the four large provinces created in the Belgian Congo in 1914. It was one of the eleven provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo between 1966 and 2015, when it was split into the Tanganyika Province, Tanganyika, Hau ...

). Trained by instructors from

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

and

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, it was responsible for border security, the fight against illegal traffic and terrorism, and the restoration of public order. In 1987, the husband of a cousin of Mobutu's first wife, Kpama Baramoto Kata, then a

section Section, Sectioning, or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sig ...

commander, was promoted to

army general Army general or General of the army is the highest ranked general officer in many countries that use the French Revolutionary System. Army general is normally the highest rank used in peacetime. In countries that adopt the general officer fou ...

(général d'armée) and took charge of the Civil Guard. In 1990–1995, the unit included a certain number of exiled Katangese Tigers who wished to return to the

. In 1996, the Civil Guard, still commanded by Baramoto, officially consisted of 26,000 men, its budget being equivalent to four times of that of the regular Zairian Armed Forces (FAZ). After having participated in the

First Congo War The First Congo War, also known as Africa's First World War, was a Civil war, civil and international military conflict that lasted from 24 October 1996 to 16 May 1997, primarily taking place in Zaire (which was renamed the Democratic Republi ...

, the unit was dissolved at the end of 1997.

References

Bibliography

* * {{portal, Democratic Republic of the Congo Military of Zaire Military units and formations established in 1984 1984 establishments in Zaire First Congo War Military units and formations disestablished in 1997 1997 disestablishments in Africa