The Ninjas were a

militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...

in the

Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...

, which participated in numerous wars and insurgencies in the 1990s and 2000s. The Ninjas were formed by the politician

Bernard Kolélas Bernard Bakana Kolélas (12 June 1933Alain Kounzilat, , Kimpwanza (planeteafrique.com) . – 13 November 2009Thierry Noungou"Parlement - Bernard Bakana Kolélas décédé ce 13 novembre à Paris", ''Les Dépêches de Brazzaville'', 13 November ...

in the early 1990s and were commanded by

Frédéric Bintsamou Frédéric Ntumi Bintsamou (born 29 August 1964), also known as Pastor Ntumi, is a Congolese Protestant clergyman and former warlord. He was the leader of the "semi-religious" rebel group the Ninjas, which led a civil war in Congo-Brazzaville. ...

, alias Pastor Ntoumi, when Kolelas was in exile. The militia fought the supporters of President

Pascal Lissouba Pascal Lissouba (15 November 1931 – 24 August 2020) was a Congolese politician who was the first democratically elected President of the Republic of the Congo and served from 31 August 1992 until 25 October 1997. He was overthrown by his pred ...

in the 1993–94 Civil War. In the 1997–99 Civil War, they allied with Lissouba's forces against the supporters of former President

Denis Sassou Nguesso Denis Sassou Nguesso (born 23 November 1943) is a Congolese politician and former military officer who has served as president of the Republic of the Congo since 1997. He also previously served as president from 1979 to 1992. Sassou Nguesso he ...

. After Sassou Nguesso's victory in this Civil War, Ntoumi's Ninjas fought an insurgency against his government in the

Pool Department Pool () is a Departments of the Republic of the Congo, department of the Republic of the Congo in the southeastern part of the country. It borders the departments of Bouenza Department, Bouenza, Lékoumou Department, Lékoumou, and Plateaux Depar ...

. The conflict in the Pool escalated in a series of violent clashes in 2002-03, after which the Ninja leadership eventually gave up their armed struggle. Ntoumi announced the disbanding of the Ninjas in 2008 but they resurfaced in 2016, starting the

Pool War The Pool War was a conflict between the Republic of the Congo and the Ninja militia in the Pool Department in the southeastern part of the country. Tensions grew between Frédéric Bintsamou (also known as Pastor Ntumi) and Congolese presiden ...

Character and ideology

Formed by and originally loyal to

, the Ninja militia was associated with the

Bakongo The Kongo people (also , singular: or ''M'kongo; , , singular: '') are a Bantu ethnic group primarily defined as the speakers of Kikongo. Subgroups include the Beembe, Bwende, Vili, Sundi, Yombe, Dondo, Lari, and others. They have li ...

ethnic group. The militia was named after the

ninja A , or was a spy and infiltrator in pre-modern Japan. The functions of a ninja included siege and infiltration, ambush, reconnaissance, espionage, deception, and later bodyguarding.Kawakami, pp. 21–22 Antecedents may have existed as ear ...

s of feudal Japan. The Ninja field commander, Pastor Ntoumi, has been described as a cult leader and a "messianic pastor". In 2003, he told a journalist that the

Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit, otherwise known as the Holy Ghost, is a concept within the Abrahamic religions. In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is understood as the divine quality or force of God manifesting in the world, particularly in acts of prophecy, creati ...

told him to revive the Ninjas. Ninja militiamen wore the colour purple (symbolizing suffering), and had their hair in dreadlocks. They were reported to believe that the

apocalypse Apocalypse () is a literary genre originating in Judaism in the centuries following the Babylonian exile (597–587 BCE) but persisting in Christianity and Islam. In apocalypse, a supernatural being reveals cosmic mysteries or the future to a ...

was near. A Ninja leader quoted in a 2000 report claimed that there were "almost 16,000 ''Ninjas'' in the Pool region". According to a 2002 news report by IRIN News, analysts believed Ntoumi commanded "only a few hundred dedicated fighters and up to 3,000 more loosely attached", the latter of which were divided and unenthusiastic.

History

1990s: Foundation and Civil War

The Republic of the Congo, formerly the

People's Republic of the Congo The People's Republic of the Congo () was a Marxist–Leninist socialist state that existed in the Republic of the Congo from 1969 to 1992. The People's Republic of the Congo was founded in December 1969 as the first Marxist-Leninist state ...

(1970–1991), abolished its Marxist-Leninist

one-party system A one-party state, single-party state, one-party system or single-party system is a governance structure in which only a single political party controls the ruling system. In a one-party state, all opposition parties are either outlawed or en ...

in 1991. In the new multi-party state, rivaling political leaders formed their own

, President for much of the one-party era, formed the Cobra militia.

, elected President from 1992, formed the Ministerial Guard, or Cocoye militia, and the Zulu militia. Bernard Kolélas, leader of the Mouvement Congolais pour la Démocratie et la Développement Integral (MCDDI) party, formed the Ninjas, recruiting from his party. After the disputed 1993 elections, violent conflict between the militias began. In this conflict, which lasted until 1994, the Ninjas were allied with Sassou Nguesso's Cobras against Lissouba's Cocoyes. In December 1995, the parties in the conflict signed a peace treaty where they agreed that militiamen aged 18–24 would be integrated into the national

gendarmerie A gendarmerie () is a paramilitary or military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (). In France and so ...

and police force.

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

also launched a plan to disarm the militias. These programs to pacify the country were controversial and unsuccessful, and the militias survived. In peacetime, the morale among the Ninjas suffered due to lack of payments. The Republic of the Congo Civil War began in June 1997, when the supporters of President Lissouba (including the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

and the Cocoye, Zulu, and Mamba militias) clashed with those of Denis Sassou Nguesso (including the Cobra militia and Sassou Nguesso's sympathizers in the army). Kolélas, then Mayor of

Brazzaville Brazzaville () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Republic of the Congo. Administratively, it is a Departments of the Republic of the Congo, department and a Communes of the Republic of the Congo, commune. Constituting t ...

, was initially neutral. The Ninja-controlled districts of Brazzaville, Bacongo and Makélékélé therefore suffered far less casualties than the rest of the city during the first months of the war. In September, Kolélas sided with Lissouba, and was installed as Prime Minister. The Ninjas thus entered the war on Lissouba's side. The alliance between the Ninjas and Lissouba's Cocoyes was formalized with the founding of the Mouvement National pour la Liberation du Congo (MNLC), but Ninja leaders such as

Claude-Ernest Ndalla Claude-Ernest Ndalla (born 25 May 1937Rémy Bazenguissa-Ganga, ''Les voies du politique au Congo: essai de sociologie historique'' (1997), Karthala Editions, page 440 .Willy Matsanga opposed the alliance and defected with their men to Sassou Nguesso's side. Sassou Nguesso's forces, supported by

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

, took control of Brazzaville in October 1997, and overthrew Lissouba's government. Sassou Nguesso returned to the presidency. The Ninjas retreated to the

and fought an insurgency against the new government. In 1999, leaders of the Ninjas and Cocoyes signed a ceasefire agreement. Following the ceasefire and defeats against government forces, about 2000 Ninjas and Cocoyes surrendered to the government. The ceasefire agreement was condemned by Kolélas. By 1999, American sources speculated if Kolélas and Lissouba were no longer in control of their militias.

2000s: Pool insurgency

There were several major clashes between government forces and Ninjas in 2002 and 2003, resulting in large humanitarian casualties. In March 2003, Ninja leaders signed agreements with the government to cease hostilities in Pool. Despite the peace accords, many Ninja militiamen remained active, and engaged in robberies of civilians and train hijackings. , active Ninja remnants still exist in the southern Pool. In June 2007, Ntoumi announced that the Ninjas were "going into constructive opposition" and were determined "to work for peace in Pool and across the country". Ninja members led by Ntoumi burned around 100 of their weapons in a ceremony in

Kinkala Kinkala is a town and a commune located in southeastern Republic of the Congo. It is the capital city of Kinkala District and the Pool Department Pool () is a Departments of the Republic of the Congo, department of the Republic of the Congo ...

. On June 10, 2008, the National Programme of Demobilisation, Disarmament and Reintegration (NPDDR), aiming to reintegrate ex-combatants from the wars of the 1990s and 2000s into civilian society, was launched. Ntoumi spoke at the launching in Kinkala and announced the disbanding of the Ninjas. He was offered a government post in September 2007, but remained in hiding until December 2009, when he went to Brazzaville to take up the post. Bernard Kolélas died in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 2009.

2010s: Pool war

In 2016, Bintsamou again raised his forces after contested modifications of the constitution by president Sassou-Nguesso. On 4 April 2016, the Congolese government accused the Ninja militia of attacking security forces. The militia denied the accusations, calling them false pretext for political suppression. Violence continued with events such as shelling by the Congolese armed forces and attacks on trains by the Ninja militia. The Congolese government and the Ninja militia signed a ceasefire agreement on 23 December 2017. Pursuant to the terms of the agreement, the Ninjas were to hand over their arms and cease their interference with trade between the cities of Brazzaville and Pointe Noire.

Human rights violations

According to a 2000 report by

USCIS United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that administers the country's naturalization and immigration system. History The USCIS is a successor to the Im ...

there were "numerous credible reports of grave human-rights violations committed by ''Ninja'' militia forces ... including

hostage-taking A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized—such as a relative, employer, law enforcement, or government—to act, o ...

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...

and

extrajudicial executions An extrajudicial killing (also known as an extrajudicial execution or an extralegal killing) is the deliberate killing of a person without the lawful authority granted by a judicial proceeding. It typically refers to government authorities, ...

." An

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

report cited by USCIS stated that " om June 1997, ''Ninja'' and ''Cocoye'' combatants reportedly killed hundreds and possibly thousands of unarmed civilians at roadblocks in their Bacongo and Makélékélé strongholds."

References

{{Reflist Guerrilla organizations Rebel groups in the Republic of the Congo