Katangese Tigers

This article is about the ex-gendarmes who fought in the Angolan Civil War and the First Congo War. For the original fighting force, see Katangese Gendarmerie.

The Katangese Tigers or the Tigres[1] are Katangese fighters.

The term originally referred to ex-members of the Katangese Gendarmerie who refused to surrender after the State of Katanga's collapse in 1963. These former soldiers fled to Angola in the 1960s. They formed a rebel group, the Congolese National Liberation Front (FNLC), in the 1970s.[2] However, the FLNC was unsuccessful in overthrowing Zaire's government or retaking Katanga, and consequently fractured. Several FLNC fighters and ex-gendarmes made peace with Zaire's dictator Mobutu Sese Seko and joined his security forces.[3] Afterwards, the term "Katangese Tigers" was used to refer to Katangese militants who continued to oppose Mobutu; these fought alongside the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo in the First Congo War.[1] After Mobutu's overthrow, these "Tigers" then became an elite force within the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, loyal to President Laurent-Désiré Kabila.[4]

  1. ^ a b Abbott 2014, pp. 34–35.
  2. ^ Abbott 2014, pp. 21–23.
  3. ^ Abbott 2014, p. 34.
  4. ^ Abbott 2014, p. 36.