List of wars involving the Democratic Republic of the Congo

This is a list of wars involving the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Congo Free State (1885–1908)

Conflict	Combatants		Result	Sovereign
Stairs Expedition (1891–1892)	Congo Free State	Yeke Kingdom	Victory Msiri killed, end of the Yeke Kingdom	Leopold II of Belgium
Congo–Arab War (1892–1894)	Congo Free State Supported by: Belgium	Sultanate of Utetera Arab-Swahili sultanates in Eastern Congo Supported by: Sultanate of Zanzibar Sultanate of Muscat	Victory Swahili-Arab power in Congo shattered
Batetela Rebellion (1895–1908)	Congo Free State	Tetela rebels	Victory
Mahdist War (1881–1899)	United Kingdom • Egypt • India^[1] • Canada^[2]^[3] • Colony of New South Wales^[4] Italy^[5] • Colony of Eritrea Ethiopia Congo Free State	Mahdist State	Victory Sudanese invasions of neighbours repelled Britain and Egypt took over Sudan and turned it into a condominium known as the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan Kassala temporarily occupied by Italy Congo secures the Lado Enclave until 1910

Belgian Congo (1908–1960)

Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville) (1960–1971)

Conflict	Combatants		Result	President
Congo Crisis (1960–1965)	Congo-Léopoldville ONUC Ireland Sweden Norway India Nigeria Ethiopia	Katanga South Kasai Belgium Congo-Stanleyville	West-Congolese victory (Phase 1) Katanga and South Kasai reincorporated into the Congo, Stanleyville government exiled	Joseph Kasa-Vubu
Congo Crisis (1960–1965)	Congo-Léopoldville Belgium United States	Simba Maoists Uganda Cuba	Government victory (Phase 2) Defeat of the Simba Rebellion	Joseph Kasa-Vubu
First Stanleyville Mutiny (1966)	Congo-Léopoldville	Mutineers	Victory Mutiny crushed	Mobutu Sese Seko
Second Stanleyville Mutiny (1967)	Congo-Léopoldville	Mutineers	Victory Mutiny crushed	Mobutu Sese Seko

Zaire (1971–1997)

Conflict	Combatants		Result	President
Angolan Civil War (1975–1979)	FNLA UNITA FLEC South Africa Zaire	MPLA Cuba	Defeat Non-aggression pact, Zairian withdrawal from Angola, demise of the FNLA	Mobutu Sese Seko
Shaba I (1977)	Zaire Morocco Egypt	FNLC	Victory FNCL expelled from Katanga
Shaba II (1978)	Zaire France Belgium Morocco	FNLC	Victory Non-aggression pact of 1979
Chadian–Libyan Conflict (1978–1987)	Chad France Zaire	Libya GUNT	Victory Islamic Legion pushed out of Chad
Rwandan Civil War (1990–1994)	Rwanda France Zaire	FPR	Withdrawal (1991) FPR takeover of Rwanda in 1994
First Congo War (1996–1997)	Zaire FAZ White Legion Sudan^[6] Chad^[7] Ex-FAR/ALiR Interahamwe CNDD-FDD^[8] UNITA^[9] ADF^[10] FLNC^[11] Supported by: France^[12]^[13] Central African Republic^[13] China^[14] Israel^[14] Kuwait (denied)^[14] Mai-Mai^[a]	AFDL Rwanda Uganda^[18] Burundi^[19] Angola^[19] SPLA^[6] Eritrea^[20] Supported by: South Africa^[21] Zambia^[22] Zimbabwe^[21] Ethiopia^[23] Tanzania^[24] United States (covertly)^[25] Mai-Mai^[a]	AFDL victory Overthrow of the Mobutu regime Zaire renamed back to the Democratic Republic of the Congo Installation of Laurent-Désiré Kabila as president Beginning of Second Congo War of Independence

Democratic Republic of the Congo (from 1997)

Conflict	Combatants		Result	President
Congo-Brazzaville Civil War (1997–1999)	Lissouba Government Ninja Militia DR Congo	Nguesso Government Angola Chad	Defeat Return to power of Denis Sassou Nguesso	Laurent-Désiré Kabila
Ituri conflict (1999-2003)	Lendu ethnic group: FNI FRPI CODECO FPJC Mai-Mai Simba ADF IS-CAP Mai-Mai Kyandenga^[26]	Hema ethnic group: UPC RCD/K-ML FAPC Uganda^[27] DR Congo (FARDC) UN (MONUC) EU (Artemis)	Ongoing^[28] Ongoing	Joseph Kabila (2001–2019) Félix Tshisekedi (since 2019)
Second Congo War (1998–2003)	Pro-government: DR Congo Angola Chad Namibia Zimbabwe Sudan (alleged) Anti-Ugandan forces: LRA ADF UNRF II FNI Anti-Rwandan militias: FDLR ALiR Interahamwe RDR Mai-Mai Other Hutu-aligned forces Anti-Burundi militias: CNDD-FDD FROLINA	Rwandan-aligned militias: RCD RCD-Goma Banyamulenge Ugandan-aligned militias: MLC Forces for Renewal UPC Other Tutsi-aligned forces Anti-Angolan forces: UNITA Foreign state actors: Uganda Rwanda Burundi Note: Rwanda and Uganda fought a short war in June 2000 over Congolese territory.	Stalemate Assassination of Laurent-Désiré Kabila Sun City Agreement Creation of a unified, multi-party government in DR Congo, with Joseph Kabila as president Pretoria Accord; Rwandan withdrawal from DR Congo in exchange for commitment towards the disarmament of Hutu militias. The Transitional Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is established, deployment of MONUC. End of the Angolan Civil War. Continuation of the Ituri conflict. Start of the Kivu conflict.	Laurent-Désiré Kabila
Kivu Conflict (2004–2009)	DR Congo Mai-Mai Zimbabwe Angola	CNDP	Victory CNDP integrated into the FARDC	Joseph Kabila
LRA Insurgency (2005–present)	Uganda South Sudan DR Congo Central African Republic	LRA	Ongoing Small scale LRA activity continues in eastern DRC, and the CAR
Dongo Rebellion (2009)	DR Congo Rwanda	RPD	Victory Rwandan-Congolese forces recaptured Dongo
Katanga Insurgency (2011–present)	DR Congo Benin Egypt	Mai Mai Kata Katanga	Ongoing Exodus of around 600,000 refugees
M23 Rebellion (2012–2013)	Democratic Republic of the Congo MONUSCO Force Intervention Brigade South Africa^[29] Tanzania^[30] Malawi^[31]	March 23 Movement Alleged support: Uganda^[32] Rwanda^[32]	Victory M23 disarms and demobilises^[33]
ADF Insurgency (2013–present)	DR Congo Uganda South Africa Tanzania Malawi	ADF	Ongoing UNF Intervention Brigade actively confront the ADF from January 2014
Séléka Rebellion (2013–present)	Central African Republic South Africa France DR Congo Angola Cameroon Chad Congo-Brazzaville Gabon	Séléka Anti-balaka	Ongoing President Michel Djotodia resigns and is replaced by Catherine Samba-Panza
Kamwina Nsapu Rebellion (2016–2019)	DR Congo	Kamwina Nsapu Militia	Victory Disunited rebel groups eventually subdued

Notes

^ ^a ^b Many Mai-Mai militias in eastern Zaire initially allied themselves with Rwanda and the AFDL against Hutu militants and refugees.^[15] As soon as most Hutu were driven away, however, many Mai-Mai groups turned against Rwanda and the AFDL.^[16] Despite this, some anti-Hutu Mai-Mai remained allied with Rwanda and the AFDL.^[17]

References

^ "Egypt and the Sudan | National Army Museum". www.nam.ac.uk.
^ "Nile Expedition". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca.
^ International, Radio Canada (26 January 2015). "Canada's first military mission overseas".
^ "Sudan (New South Wales Contingent) March-June 1885". 28 July 2021.
^ Meredith Reid Sarkees, Frank Whelon Wayman (2010). Resort to war: a data guide to inter-state, extra-state, intra-state, and non-state wars, 1816–2007. Washington, DC.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ ^a ^b Prunier (2004), pp. 376–377.
^ Toïngar, Ésaïe (2014). Idriss Deby and the Darfur Conflict. p. 119. In 1996, President Mobutu of Zaire requested that mercenaries be sent from Chad to help defend his government from rebel forces led by Lauren Desiré Kabila. ... When a number of the troops were ambushed by Kabila and killed in defense of Mobutu's government, Mobutu paid Déby a fee in honor of their service.
^ Prunier (2009), pp. 116–118.
^ Duke, Lynne (20 May 1997). "Congo Begins Process of Rebuilding Nation". The Washington Post. p. A10. Archived from the original on 24 February 2011. Guerrillas of Angola's former rebel movement UNITA, long supported by Mobutu in an unsuccessful war against Angola's government, also fought for Mobutu against Kabila's forces.
^ Prunier (2004), pp. 375–377.
^ Reyntjens 2009, pp. 112–113.
^ "Strategic Review for Southern Africa". University of Pretoria. 20–21. 1998. As the conflict developed, France provided financial support to Mobutu and pushed hard for foreign intervention. However, under US pressure, France eventually terminated its call for intervention.
^ ^a ^b Carayannis, Tatiana (2015). Making Sense of the Central African Republic. Zed Books. In the waning days of Mobutu's rule, while Kabila's Rwandan- and Ugandan-backed putsch was rapidly making its way across Congo, France sought to prop up Mobutu's dying regime through covert military aid to the ailing dictator ... This covert aid was facilitated by Patassé
^ ^a ^b ^c Reyntjens 2009, pp. 112.
^ Prunier (2009), pp. 117, 130, 143.
^ Prunier (2009), p. 130.
^ Prunier (2009), p. 143.
^ Prunier (2004), pp. 375–376.
^ ^a ^b Duke, Lynne (15 April 1997). "Passive Protest Stops Zaire's Capital Cold". The Washington Post. p. A14. Archived from the original on 24 February 2011. Kabila's forces – which are indeed backed by Rwanda, Angola, Uganda and Burundi, diplomats say – are slowly advancing toward the capital from the eastern half of the country, where they have captured all the regions that produce Zaire's diamonds, gold, copper and cobalt.
^ Plaut (2016), pp. 54–55.
^ ^a ^b "Consensual Democracy" in Post-genocide Rwanda. International Crisis Group. 2001. p. 8. In that first struggle in the Congo, Rwanda, allied with Uganda, Angola, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Burundi, had brought Laurent Désiré Kabila to power in Kinshasa
^ Reyntjens 2009, pp. 65–66.
^ Usanov, Artur (2013). Coltan, Congo and Conflict. Hague Centre for Strategic Studies. p. 36.
^ Makikagile, Godfrey (2006). Nyerere and Africa. New Africa Press. p. 173.
^ Prunier (2009), pp. 118, 126–127.
^ "Ituri : 4 miliciens Mai-mai Kyandenga neutralisés par les FARDC à Otamabere". March 21, 2022.
^ "ituri: "covered in blood"". www.hrw.org. 27 January 2024. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
^ "Conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo". Global Conflict Tracker. 27 January 2024. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
^ South Africa deploys troops to DR Congo: News Archived 24 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Africareview.com (2 June 2012). Retrieved on 2013-09-04.
^ "Last batch of Tanzanian troops now in Goma for the Force Intervention Brigade". MONUSCO. 12 June 2013. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
^ "UN troops clash with rebels in DR Congo – Africa". Al Jazeera English. Archived from the original on 27 August 2013. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
^ ^a ^b According to a leaked U.N. report. "Rwanda defence chief leads DR Congo rebels, UN report says". BBC. 17 October 2012. Archived from the original on 27 November 2012. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
^ Andrew Harding (5 November 2013). "BBC News – DR Congo M23 rebels 'end insurgency'". BBC. Archived from the original on 6 November 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-06.

Sources

Plaut, Martin (2016). Understanding Eritrea: Inside Africa's Most Repressive State. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-066959-1.
Prunier, Gérard (July 2004). "Rebel Movements and Proxy Warfare: Uganda, Sudan and the Congo (1986-99)". African Affairs. 103 (412): 359–383. doi:10.1093/afraf/adh050. JSTOR 3518562.
Prunier, Gérard (2009). Africa's World War: Congo, the Rwandan Genocide, and the Making of a Continental Catastrophe. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-970583-2.
Reyntjens, Filip (2009). The Great African War: Congo and Regional Geopolitics, 1996-2006. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-11128-7.

[Mai-Mai-18] Many Mai-Mai militias in eastern Zaire initially allied themselves with Rwanda and the AFDL against Hutu militants and refugees.^[15] As soon as most Hutu were driven away, however, many Mai-Mai groups turned against Rwanda and the AFDL.^[16] Despite this, some anti-Hutu Mai-Mai remained allied with Rwanda and the AFDL.^[17]

[1] "Egypt and the Sudan | National Army Museum". www.nam.ac.uk.

[2] "Nile Expedition". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca.

[3] International, Radio Canada (26 January 2015). "Canada's first military mission overseas".

[4] "Sudan (New South Wales Contingent) March-June 1885". 28 July 2021.

[RTW-5] Meredith Reid Sarkees, Frank Whelon Wayman (2010). Resort to war: a data guide to inter-state, extra-state, intra-state, and non-state wars, 1816–2007. Washington, DC.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

[FOOTNOTEPrunier2004376–377-6] Prunier (2004), pp. 376–377.

[chad-7] Toïngar, Ésaïe (2014). Idriss Deby and the Darfur Conflict. p. 119. In 1996, President Mobutu of Zaire requested that mercenaries be sent from Chad to help defend his government from rebel forces led by Lauren Desiré Kabila. ... When a number of the troops were ambushed by Kabila and killed in defense of Mobutu's government, Mobutu paid Déby a fee in honor of their service.

[FOOTNOTEPrunier2009116–118-8] Prunier (2009), pp. 116–118.

[9] Duke, Lynne (20 May 1997). "Congo Begins Process of Rebuilding Nation". The Washington Post. p. A10. Archived from the original on 24 February 2011. Guerrillas of Angola's former rebel movement UNITA, long supported by Mobutu in an unsuccessful war against Angola's government, also fought for Mobutu against Kabila's forces.

[FOOTNOTEPrunier2004375–377-10] Prunier (2004), pp. 375–377.

[FOOTNOTEReyntjens2009112–113-11] Reyntjens 2009, pp. 112–113.

[france-12] "Strategic Review for Southern Africa". University of Pretoria. 20–21. 1998. As the conflict developed, France provided financial support to Mobutu and pushed hard for foreign intervention. However, under US pressure, France eventually terminated its call for intervention.

[CAR-13] Carayannis, Tatiana (2015). Making Sense of the Central African Republic. Zed Books. In the waning days of Mobutu's rule, while Kabila's Rwandan- and Ugandan-backed putsch was rapidly making its way across Congo, France sought to prop up Mobutu's dying regime through covert military aid to the ailing dictator ... This covert aid was facilitated by Patassé

[FOOTNOTEReyntjens2009112-14] Reyntjens 2009, pp. 112.

[FOOTNOTEPrunier2009117,_130,_143-15] Prunier (2009), pp. 117, 130, 143.

[FOOTNOTEPrunier2009130-16] Prunier (2009), p. 130.

[FOOTNOTEPrunier2009143-17] Prunier (2009), p. 143.

[FOOTNOTEPrunier2004375–376-19] Prunier (2004), pp. 375–376.

[WashingtonPostApril15-20] Duke, Lynne (15 April 1997). "Passive Protest Stops Zaire's Capital Cold". The Washington Post. p. A14. Archived from the original on 24 February 2011. Kabila's forces – which are indeed backed by Rwanda, Angola, Uganda and Burundi, diplomats say – are slowly advancing toward the capital from the eastern half of the country, where they have captured all the regions that produce Zaire's diamonds, gold, copper and cobalt.

[FOOTNOTEPlaut201654–55-21] Plaut (2016), pp. 54–55.

[icg-22] "Consensual Democracy" in Post-genocide Rwanda. International Crisis Group. 2001. p. 8. In that first struggle in the Congo, Rwanda, allied with Uganda, Angola, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Burundi, had brought Laurent Désiré Kabila to power in Kinshasa

[FOOTNOTEReyntjens200965–66-23] Reyntjens 2009, pp. 65–66.

[24] Usanov, Artur (2013). Coltan, Congo and Conflict. Hague Centre for Strategic Studies. p. 36.

[nyerere-25] Makikagile, Godfrey (2006). Nyerere and Africa. New Africa Press. p. 173.

[FOOTNOTEPrunier2009118,_126–127-26] Prunier (2009), pp. 118, 126–127.

[27] "Ituri : 4 miliciens Mai-mai Kyandenga neutralisés par les FARDC à Otamabere". March 21, 2022.

[28] "ituri: "covered in blood"". www.hrw.org. 27 January 2024. Retrieved 2024-01-27.

[29] "Conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo". Global Conflict Tracker. 27 January 2024. Retrieved 2024-01-27.

[africareview.com-30] South Africa deploys troops to DR Congo: News Archived 24 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Africareview.com (2 June 2012). Retrieved on 2013-09-04.

[un.org-31] "Last batch of Tanzanian troops now in Goma for the Force Intervention Brigade". MONUSCO. 12 June 2013. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 10 October 2013.

[32] "UN troops clash with rebels in DR Congo – Africa". Al Jazeera English. Archived from the original on 27 August 2013. Retrieved 4 November 2013.

[leaked-33] According to a leaked U.N. report. "Rwanda defence chief leads DR Congo rebels, UN report says". BBC. 17 October 2012. Archived from the original on 27 November 2012. Retrieved 17 October 2012.

[34] Andrew Harding (5 November 2013). "BBC News – DR Congo M23 rebels 'end insurgency'". BBC. Archived from the original on 6 November 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-06.

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v t e Lists of wars involving African countries
Sovereign states	Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Comoros Democratic Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo Djibouti Egypt Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Eswatini Ethiopia Gabon The Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Ivory Coast Kenya Lesotho Liberia Libya Madagascar Malawi Mali Mauritania Mauritius Morocco Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Rwanda São Tomé and Príncipe Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Somalia South Africa South Sudan Sudan Tanzania Togo Tunisia Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe
States with limited recognition	Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic Somaliland
Dependencies and other territories	Canary Islands / Ceuta / Melilla (Spain) Madeira (Portugal) Mayotte / Réunion (France) Saint Helena / Ascension Island / Tristan da Cunha (United Kingdom)