Ninja (militia)

Ninjas
LeadersBernard Kolélas
Frédéric Bintsangou a.k.a. Pastor Ntoumi
Dates of operationEarly 1990s–2008; 2016–2017
HeadquartersBrazzaville (until 1997)
Pool Department
Active regionsRepublic of the Congo
SizeEstimates of some hundred active; up to 3,000 loosely attached fighters as of 2002[1]
Allies1993–94 conflict: Cobra militia
1997–99 Civil War: Cocoye militia
Republic of the Congo (1997)
Opponents Republic of the Congo
Cocoye militia (1993–94)
Cobra militia (from 1997)
 Angola (1997)[2]
Battles and wars

The Ninjas were a militia in the Republic of the Congo, which participated in numerous wars and insurgencies in the 1990s and 2000s. The Ninjas were formed by the politician Bernard Kolélas in the early 1990s and were commanded by Frédéric Bintsamou, alias Pastor Ntoumi, when Kolelas was in exile.

The militia fought the supporters of President Pascal Lissouba 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. After Sassou Nguesso's victory in this Civil War, Ntoumi's Ninjas fought an insurgency against his government in the Pool Department. 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.

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  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference USCIS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).