Word: mobutuism
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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When the emergency arose in Zaïre two weeks ago, two countries responded almost immediately to Mobutu's call for aid: Belgium, which has a $1 billion investment in Zaïre and 100,000 of its citizens in residence there; and France, which thinks of itself as a mentor to French-speaking Africa. Carter immediately asked Paris and Brussels how the U.S. could help; at their suggestion, he quickly supplied 18 Air Force C-141 transports to assist in the emergency airlift. Considering the magnitude of French and Belgian assistance, it is doubtful that Carter would have wanted to take...
These binding ties were underscored last week as heads of state and other delegates from some 20 African nations converged in Paris for the fifth annual Franco-African summit. To make sure nobody missed the point, Zaïre's President Mobutu flew into Paris dressed in camouflage combat fatigues and boots, explaining to reporters that he had just "come back from the front." By that time the front had slipped back across the Angolan border, but no matter. The hero of the hour was President Giscard, who was broadly cheered when he declared, "Africa for the Africans. Everything must...
...Foreign Legion (see box), an estimated 2,000 Katangese rebels faded back into the bush, retreating toward their home bases in eastern Angola. The paratroopers took up new positions at Lubumbashi, 160 miles away, turning over their guard duty to Zaïrian troops loyal to President Mobutu Sese Seko...
...earlier, an estimated 2,000 rebels had launched Shaba I, an incursion into the region that was halted short of Kolwezi after 49 days of fighting between the F.N.L.C. forces and the French-supported Moroccan and Zaïrian troops. The rebels promised to return to Shaba and overthrow Mobutu's regime. They carefully planned this infiltration. After the liberation of Kolwezi, French paratroopers found three railroad cars filled with weapons, ranging from Soviet AK-47 automatic rifles to Israeli-made UZI submachine guns. Along with the guns...
Belgium had agreed to help out Mobutu for humanitarian reasons. Concentrating on the rescue mission, Brussels' 1,300 red-bereted paratroopers cleared the key routes into Kolwezi, set up an emergency medical-aid station at the city's airport, and began evacuating refugees. The fighting was done by 600 legionnaires, who encircled Kolwezi, took up positions on the main roads, and then launched foot patrols inside the city. The French troops encountered an ephemeral enemy that drifted away rather than risk a pitched battle. There were, however, a few fierce skirmishes, in which the legion lost four...