On this day in history: Shaba war in Zaire comes to an end

The first Shaba war (also referred to as Shaba I) broke out on 8 March 1977 in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Angola-based guerrillas of the Front for the National Liberation of Congo  (FLNC) took the border town of Dilolo, in the western Shaba region, en route to the mining centre of Kolwezi, where they instigated the attack. The war ended towards the end of May 1977. A year later, the FLNC captured the mining town in what became known as Shaba II.

The Shaba wars took place during Mobutu Sese Seko’s rule. The FLNC plans to seize Mobutu were thwarted twice as he was rescued by French troops in both wars.

The country was a one-party state and dictatorship, run by Mobutu Sese Seko and his ruling Popular Movement of the Revolution party. It was established following Mobutu’s seizure of power in a military coup in 1965.

The state collapsed in 1996, amid the destabilization of eastern DRC in the aftermath of the Rwandan Civil War and growing ethnic violence.

Source: SA History