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Not to be confused with Military of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Armed Forces of the Republic of the Congo
Forces Armées de la République du Congo
Flag of the Republic of the Congo
Flag of the Republic of the Congo
FoundedAugust 15, 1960
Current formJanuary 16, 1961
Service branchesArmy
Air Force
Marine (Navy)
Gendarmerie
HeadquartersBrazzaville
Leadership
President of the Republic of the CongoDenis Sassou Nguesso
Minister for the Presidency of the Republic in charge of National Defense[3]Charles Richard Mondjo[1]
Chief of General Staff[2]Guy Blanchard Okoï[2]
Personnel
Active personnel10,800[3]
Expenditure
Budget$134 million (2010)[3]
Percent of GDP1.1% (2010)[3]
Industry
Foreign suppliers China[4]
 France[4]
 South Africa[4]
 Soviet Union (1966–1988)[4]
Related articles
HistoryFirst Republic of the Congo Civil War (1993–1994)
Second Republic of the Congo Civil War (1997–1999)

The Armed Forces of the Republic of the Congo (French: Forces armées de la République du Congo), also less formally denoted as the Forces Armées Congolaises or its acronym FAC, are the military forces of the Republic of the Congo.[5] They consist of the Congolese Army, the Congolese Air Force, and the Congolese Marine (Navy). The dissolution of French Equatorial Africa in 1958, and France's impending military withdrawal from the Congo in August 1960, provided the impetuous for the formation of the FAC.[6] The FAC and state paramilitary agencies are headed by an Armed Forces Chief of General Staff, usually appointed by the President of the Republic of the Congo.[7] Major General Guy Blanchard Okoï has served as chief of staff since 2012.

The Congolese military was created on January 16, 1961, and reflected the nature of the colonial security forces, which recruited among the country's northern ethnic groups and were staffed by junior Bakongo officers and a handful of French senior commissioned officers.[6] President Alphonse Massamba-Débat, who seized power in 1963, expelled all the French personnel and sidelined the military in favor of independent political militias, which were trained by Cuban troops.[8] The militias and the Congo's civil defense corps were later integrated with the FAC as the Armée Nationale Populaire.[6]

Under the People's Republic of the Congo, the FAC was again reorganized, with Mbochi career soldiers making up the bulk of the new officer corps; its effectiveness and standards, however, were gradually eroded by draconian political purges throughout the 1970s.[9] A second major setback occurred during the 1990s, when mass desertions led to many FAC officers and enlisted troops joining regional militias.[10] The FAC was reformed for the third time after the Second Congo War, incorporating a number of former rebels and militia combatants.[10]

On 5 February 2012, there were munitions explosions at a tank regiment (seemingly 'Regiment Blinde') barracks located in Brazzaville's fifth arrondissement, Ouenze. Some 206 people were initially reported killed. There are five military barracks in the city, and after the explosion officials said the government had promised to move all munitions out of the capital.[11]

History

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Cold War (1960-1990)

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Upon independence in August 1960, the Republic of the Congo inherited a relatively small army from the French colonial establishment. France had recruited most of its Congolese auxiliary troops from the country's northern provinces, and Mbochi soldiers, originally with few educational qualifications, had traditionally dominated most units.[9] They were trained and led by a combination of French senior officers and French-trained Bakongo junior officers.[6] On January 16, 1961 the Congo passed its first legislation outlining the procedures for national defense and general recruitment in the Forces Armées Congolaises. Although Brazzaville remained dwarfed militarily by its neighbor, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, President Fulbert Youlou had assured his country's security by signing a defense pact with France and cultivating close ties with his Léopoldville counterpart, Joseph Kasa-Vubu. Several hundred French military staff also remained in the country with Youlou's approval.[12] Paris donated a Douglas DC-3, two Max Holste Broussard monoplanes, and a single Bell H-13 Sioux helicopter to the new government, which came to form the nucleus of the Congolese Air Force.[4]

In 1963, Brazzaville was rocked by three days of demonstrations as students and trade unionists took to the streets to protest government corruption.[12] President Youlou, hoping to suppress the unrest by force, called out the FAC and began deploying troops in the city. At one point he ordered them to fire on the protesters. The French personnel received separate orders from Charles de Gaulle[12] insisting they were not to comply with Youlou's demand; as most of FAC units were still commanded by French officers, the Congolese soldiers followed their example and stood down.[6] Youlou was forced to comply with the protesters and resign accordingly.[12] The FAC subsequently assisted with the establishment of a provisional government led by Alphonse Massamba-Débat.[13]

It soon became clear President Massamba-Débat resented what he perceived as disloyal, pro-French elements in the armed forces.[14] He dismissed the FAC's French officers[6] and created an independent presidential guard trained and staffed by Cuban troops.[14] Massamba-Débat also patronized a number of civilian political militias, which he integrated into the FAC along with the civil defense corps as the Armée Nationale Populaire.[6] This proved to be an ill-advised decision; most soldiers were suspicious of the militias and found the president's use of civilians in the FAC chain of command appalling.[6] By 1965, it had become clear that Massamba-Débat was using the presidential guard and the militias as a direct counterweight to the increasingly restive FAC.[15] His Cuban advisers encouraged this view, concurring that because the FAC had been originally trained and led by the French it was corrupted by reactionary political attitudes.[16] When the Soviet Union offered to instruct and equip the FAC's first artillery regiment, the Cubans demanded they refrain from giving the troops training and hardware that could later be used against the regime. These attitudes greatly hampered the development of the armed forces, and their ability to fight a conventional war in defense of the Congo.[16]

In June 1966, Massamba-Débat sparked a mutiny in the FAC's paratroop battalion when he demoted and arrested one of its popular officers, Captain Marien Ngouabi.[6] This coincided with a piece of legislation consolidating the ruling party's political control of the FAC. Infuriated paratroopers went on a rampage in Brazzaville, and throughout the north demonstrations were held in support of their grievances.[17] Cuban leader Fidel Castro informed Massamba-Débat that he was not to negotiate with the mutineers, or risk permanently losing Havana's support.[16] The revolt was put down by loyal members of the army and the presidential guard.[14] In August 1968, Ngouabi was arrested again, sparking yet another mutiny.[18] All three branches of the FAC rallied to his support,[19] seized the radio station in Brazzaville, and made a joint declaration accusing President Massamba-Débat of "betraying the ideals of the 1963 revolution".[20] The president fled to his home village, and Lieutenant Augustine Poignet, the defense secretary of the Congo, was appointed head of a provisional government by the military chiefs.[20] The then Major Ngouabi found himself released and offered the presidency, which he assumed on December 31, 1968.[14]

A year later President Ngouabi proclaimed the People's Republic of the Congo, Africa's first communist state.[21] Ngouabi's proposed socialist reforms were remarkably similar to those of his predecessor, and his rhetoric even more radical;[22] under his direction the Congolese government began nationalizing industry and enforcing collectivization in the agricultural sector.[14] Ngouabi's policies resulted in disillusionment among many of the FAC's conservative Bakongo officer corps, and the president ordered them purged for plotting against his regime.[6] In 1970, disaffected FAC troops attempted a coup d'etat, citing the arbitrary detention of officers as one of their primary grievances.[21] Ngouabi loyalists crushed the coup with tanks supplied by the Soviet Union.[21][4]

The FAC subsequently replaced the departing Bakongo personnel through the rapid promotion of Mobochi and Kouyou officers, specifically to senior command positions.[9] It also underwent a massive expansion, introducing conscription, bolstering its resources with large deliveries of Soviet weaponry, and reorganizing the country into seven distinct military zones.[9] In exchange for Ngouabi's renunciation of Congolese claims to Cabinda, Cuba granted sixty scholarships in Havana military schools to FAC officers[22] and dispatched additional troops to Brazzaville, ostensibly for the purpose of safeguarding against a possible invasion by Zaire.[23] Throughout the mid-1970s Cuba and the FAC began using Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire as staging points to funnel massive shipments of arms to Angola's Marxist government.[23]

Ngouabi was assassinated in March 1977 by a disgruntled FAC lieutenant during an apparent coup attempt.[24] Former president Massamba-Débat was convicted of masterminding the botched coup through his sympathizers in the army and executed.[14] What followed was a power struggle as both the FAC and the ruling Congolese Party of Labor (CPL) jockeyed for control of government. A military committee headed by Colonel Joachim Yhombi Opango initially took power, but the party's political bureau succeeded in having him arrested for treason in February 1979.[25] Yhombi Opango was succeeded by another member of the military committee, Colonel Denis Sassou Nguesso.[25]

Throughout the next decade, the Congo remained preoccupied with internal security concerns, including terrorist bombings, mass student demonstrations in 1984 and 1985, and another unsuccessful coup d'etat attempt in 1987.[25] By late 1991, the People's Republic had been abolished and a longstanding ban on opposition parties lifted.[25] The FAC remained largely unchanged during this period. It was still dominated by northerners in general and Mobochi and Kouyou recruits in particular, although there were also smaller numbers of Teke and Bakongo personnel.[9] Inter-ethnic rivalries between the northerners in the FAC and the police and intelligence agencies, who recruited from the south, were exacerbated by the presence of Cuban troops, who trusted neither and kept all Congolese security forces under close supervision.[9] The Cubans began withdrawing in 1990 as part of a larger disengagement dictated by the Angola Tripartite Accord.[26] President Sassou Nguesso immediately replaced them with Moroccan advisers, reflecting the government's continued distrust of the FAC and tradition of using foreign troops as a political buffer against disloyal elements in its own military.[26] The Moroccans were later superseded by Israelis[26] and foreign mercenaries of various nationalities.[4]

Internal conflicts (1991-1997)

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In mid August 1992, Pascal Lissouba was elected president of the Congo following the country's first multiparty elections since French colonial rule.[25] Lissouba inherited armed forces that were neither reliable nor loyal, and somewhat suspicious of the trend towards political liberalization.[26] The presidential guard was so unhappy with Lissouba's election that it continued pledging its loyalty towards former president Sassou Nguesso, and even broke away from the FAC chain of command to serve as his personal militia. Unable to trust the FAC and even the police, with whom he was equally unpopular, Lissouba resorted to forming his own militia, the Ministerial Reserve.[26] He also created a new presidential guard made up of Bembe recruits and staffed the gendarmerie with his supporters.[26]

By 1993, the Congo had descended a wave of inter-factional violence as Sassou Nguesso and another minority party leader, Bernard Kolélas, accused Lissouba of rigging votes in at least eight constituencies to win the previous year's election.[27] Their armed supporters subsequently embarked on a bloody rampage that left 2,000 Congolese dead while the FAC remained aloof.[28] The violence saw the consolidation of the three primary militant groups in the country, the "Cobras", the "Cocoyes", and the "Ninjas": each loyal to Sassou Nguesso, Lissouba, and Kolélas, respectively.[27] Under pressure from international mediators, the three leaders agreed to a ceasefire in 1994, with Lissouba remaining in office until new elections could be held for the eight disputed constituencies.[27]

The end of the First Republic of the Congo Civil War left the FAC largely rudderless, as most of its predominantly Mbochi officers had either resigned or deserted to join Sassou Nguesso's Cobra fighters.[26] President Lissouba took advantage of the lull in the fighting to purge most of the remaining senior Mbochi personnel.[26] From 1990 to the end of 1994 the FAC lost an estimated 3,000 troops due to a menagerie of causes ranging from arrest to desertion.[26] After the ceasefire large numbers of demoralized soldiers continued abandoning their posts to join one of the three militias.[29]

From early to mid 1997, the United States and three Western European governments—Portugal, the United Kingdom, and France— stationed troops in Brazzaville to the assist in the evacuation of their nationals from neighboring Zaire, which was being ravaged by the First Congo War.[30] Most of the foreign military staff had departed when Lissouba announced his intention to disarm the Cobra militia ahead of the upcoming general elections, which Sassou Nguesso also planned to contest.[30] He expounded on his rationale by stating militia disarmament was a necessary step to ensure peace during the election period. An incredulous Sassou Nguesso accused Lissouba of trying to spark renewed tensions so he would have an excuse to postpone elections and continue ruling indefinitely.[28] On June 5, the FAC received orders to proceed with disarming the Cobras.[30] Militia forces barricaded the streets and attempted to seize control of the city center, sparking the Second Republic of the Congo Civil War.[30] In four days of bitter fighting, the Cobras managed to take their objective, including the state broadcasting stations. They were also holding most of Brazzaville's northern districts.[30] The defending FAC units proved notoriously undisciplined and unreliable, looting shops and doing little to restore order.[30] As the situation deteriorated, they resorted to arming any civilians willing to assist in fighting the Cobras. At some point before June 9, Lissouba authorized the deployment of tanks into Brazzaville.[30]

Lissouba and Sassou Nguesso agreed to a renewed ceasefire on June 11, but intense fighting broke out four days later when France—the only one of the four Western countries that retained a military presence in Brazzaville for the evacuation of its nationals—announced it would be withdrawing. Emboldened by the French withdrawal, the Cobras resumed their offensive against the FAC while Lissouba pleaded with Paris to reconsider, fearing that the collapse of his government would soon follow.


, but intense fighting broke out again four days later upon an an

intense fighting broke out again four days later.



As the situation deteriorated, they resorted to arming large numbers of Brazzaville residents 

civilians


At some point prior to June 9, the FAC began deploying tanks into the capital and arming civilians willing to fight with them.


Militia forces responded with a show of massive force. Sassou Nguesso's supporters quickly seized control of the city center, including the state radio and television stations.


insisted that the Cobras had to be removed to prevent their intimidation of voters and ensure a peaceful election period; however, Sassou Nguesso


demonstrate to Sassou Nguesso's commitment to a peaceful election period


On Thursday, June 5, 1997 the FAC was given a fateful order to disarm all Cobra fighters within the city limits. Militiamen responded by firing on the troops, sparking the Second Republic of the Congo Civil War.[30]


Lissouba waited for most of the foreign military staff to depart befo 


again, then announced his intention to demobilize and disarm members of the Cobra militia inside the city limits,


taking steps to demobilize and disarm the


That June, as most of the foreign military staff were departing, hostilities between Lissouba and his rivals again flared. 


between Lissouba and his rivals.

The resumption of hostilities in early 1997 was narrowly averted by the arrival of American, British, Portuguese, and French 


of American, British, Portuguese, and French troops.

A resumption of hostilities was narrowly averted by the presence of American, British, Portuguese, and French troops

Open hostilities resumed in June 1997.[29]





most of them were purged for plotting against his regime.


also brought the Congo into a much degree of greater military cooperation with the Soviet Union and Cuba.

Ngouabi's policies were unpopular with the FAC's predominantly Bakongo officer corps,


the Collectivization in the Soviet Union


Fully aware of the potential right

Lieutenant Augustine Poignet,


Army Lieutenant Augustine Poignet


President Massamba-Débat was on a state visit to Madagascar



In 1966, the presidential guard had to put down an attempted coup d'etat by restive FAC personnel.

Unlike his predecessor, Massamba-Débat also hated and distrusted the Léopoldville government a


Massamba-Débat also favored civilian militias over the FAC


He dismissed the FAC's French officers and created an independent presidential guard trained and staffed by Cuban military advisers.

was suspicious of political sentiments in the armed forces, particularly its


resented what he perceived as disloyal, pro-French elements in the armed forces.


To that end, he purged the FAC of its French officers and




Charles de Gaulle counteracted Youlou's order with a separate decree insisting no French personnel were to comply; as most of the Congolese units were still commanded by French officers, they stood down and refused to defend Youlou's regime any longer.

French president Charles de Gaulle counteracted


French president Charles de Gaulle counteracted Youlou's orders with a separate decree instructing French personnel

three days of demonstrations as

President Fulbert Youlou signed a

a combination of French-trained Bakongo junior officers and

The first Congolese soldiers were

Equipment

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Tanks

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Tanks are mostly older examples from the USSR.

Infantry fighting vehicles

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Self Propelled guns

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Small Arms

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Anti-Aircraft guns

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Congolese sailors aboard the USS Forrest Sherman.

The Navy has some 800 personnel. In October 2007, the US Navy provided some training to Congolese Navy personnel in Pointe Noire, a port city that is the second largest settlement in the country.[32]

Air Force

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Main article: Congolese Air Force
Roundel of the Congolese Air Force

After achieving independence from France in 1960, the Congolese air force (Force Aerienne Congolaise) was started with equipment such as the Douglas C-47s, Broussards and Bell 47Gs, these were followed by Nord Noratlas tactical transports and Sud Alouette helicopter. In the 1970s the air force switched to Soviet equipment. This included five Ilyushin IL-14 and six turboprop Antonov An-24 transports and an An-26 in return for providing bases for Cuban MiG-17 operations over Angola. These fighters and a few MiG-15UTI combat trainers were transferred to the FAC. In 1990 these fighter were replaced by 16 USSR supplied MiG-21MF/bis Fishbeds plus a couple of MiG-21US trainers. Together with a Soviet training mission which stayed until late 1991, during that time there were numerous accidents that involved both Soviet and Congolese personnel. After the Soviets left there was only limited funding for MiG operations and they were withdrawn. Six Mi-8 helicopters were delivered from Ukraine in mid-1997 before the Cobra rebel takeover.

In 1990, the Air Force was reformed into its present state. Most fighter aircraft it possessed were scrapped in 2001. France and China provided most training to the Air Force in recent times.

Aircraft Inventory

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The Congo's 9 military aircraft, including 3 helicopters, are operated by the Air Force.

Aircraft Origin Type Versions In service[33] Notes
Aérospatiale SA 318 Alouette II  France utility helicopter SA 318C 1
Aérospatiale SA 316 Alouette III  France utility helicopter SA 316C 1
Antonov An-24  Soviet Union /  Ukraine transport An-24 5
Antonov An-26  Soviet Union transport An-26 1
Eurocopter SA 365 Dauphin  France utility helicopter SA 365 1

Notes and citations

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Armed Forces of the Republic of the Congo.
Citations
  1. ^ AA 2015.
  2. ^ a b Okokana 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d DW 2013.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g SIPRI 2016.
  5. ^ CONGO 2001.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Clark & Decalo 2012, p. 44.
  7. ^ Clark & Decalo 2012, p. 48.
  8. ^ Gleijeses 2002, p. 82.
  9. ^ a b c d e f Clark & Decalo 2012, p. 45.
  10. ^ a b Clark & Decalo 2012, p. 47.
  11. ^ http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/206-people-dead-arms-depot-explodes-republic-congo-article-1.1033182, accessed 6 February 2012
  12. ^ a b c d Gleijeses 2002, p. 81.
  13. ^ Cyr 2001, p. 124.
  14. ^ a b c d e f Cyr 2001, p. 125.
  15. ^ Gleijeses 2002, p. 166.
  16. ^ a b c Gleijeses 2002, p. 171.
  17. ^ Gleijeses 2002, p. 170.
  18. ^ McGowan & Johnson 1984, p. 663.
  19. ^ Rorison 2012, p. 242.
  20. ^ a b UPI 1968.
  21. ^ a b c UPI 1970.
  22. ^ a b Gleijeses 2002, p. 264.
  23. ^ a b Gleijeses 2002, p. 265.
  24. ^ UPI 1977.
  25. ^ a b c d e Cyr 2001, p. 126.
  26. ^ a b c d e f g h i Clark & Decalo 2012, p. 46.
  27. ^ a b c Zelnick 2003.
  28. ^ a b API 1997.
  29. ^ a b Weigert 2011, p. 131.
  30. ^ a b c d e f g h FLS 1997.
  31. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Jones, Richard D. Jane's Infantry Weapons 2009/2010. Jane's Information Group; 35 edition (January 27, 2009). ISBN 978-0-7106-2869-5.
  32. ^ US Navy teaches Congolese sailors
  33. ^ Congolese military aviation OrBat
Online sources
Newspaper and journal articles
Bibliography



  • Emerson, Stephen (2014). The Battle for Mozambique. Solihull: Helio & Co. Ltd. ISBN 978-1909384927.
  • Cooper, Thomas (19 October 2013). Great Lakes Conflagration: Second Congo War, 1998 2003. Solihull: Helio & Co. Ltd. ISBN 978-1909384668.
  • Gupta, Amit (1997). Building an Arsenal: The Evolution of Regional Power Force Structures. Westport: Praeger. ISBN 978-0275957872.
  • Cordesman, Anthony (30 September 2004). The Military Balance in the Middle East. Westport: Praeger. ISBN 978-0275983994.
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