Invasion of South Kasai

Date: August 23, 1960 • Location: Mbuji-Mayi, Congo, the Democratic Republic of the

This milestone marked the outbreak and beginning of this historic period, which spanned 1960.

Congo Crisis: In order to stop the secession of South Kasai from the Republic of Congo, Armée Nationale Congolaise forces launched an invasion of South Kasai.

The Congo Crisis was a period of political upheaval and conflict between 1960 and 1965 in the Republic of the Congo. The crisis began almost immediately after the Congo became independent from Belgium and ended, unofficially, with the entire country under the rule of Joseph-Désiré Mobutu. Constituting a series of civil wars, the Congo Crisis was also a proxy conflict in the Cold War, in which the Soviet Union and the United States supported opposing factions. Around 100,000 people are believed to have been killed during the crisis.