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Congolese soldiers of the colonial-era Force Publique pictured in 1928. The first organised Congolese troops, known as the Force Publique, were created in 1888 when King Leopold II of Belgium, who held the Congo Free State as his private property, ordered his Secretary of the Interior to create military and police forces for the state. [11]
The dissolution of French Equatorial Africa in 1958, and France's impending military withdrawal from the Congo in August 1960, provided the impetus for the formation of the FAC. 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.
The Force Publique (French: [fɔʁs pyblik], "Public Force"; Dutch: Openbare Weermacht) was the military of the Congo Free State and the Belgian Congo from 1885 to 1960. It was established after Belgian Army officers travelled to the Free State to found an armed force in the colony on Leopold II of Belgium's orders.
The Swedes would be the third most numerous nationality in Leopold II's army [5] and would often engage the Congolese natives in combat. However, with Leopold II's Congo being handed over to Belgium and the heightened military preparedness following the dissolution of the Swedish-Norwegian Union, most soldiers would return to Sweden. [6]
The land forces are made up of about 14 integrated brigades, of fighters from all the former warring factions which have gone through an brassage integration process (see next paragraph), and a not-publicly known number of non-integrated brigades which remain solely made up from single factions (the Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD)'s Armee National Congolaise, the ex-government former ...
Model Image Origin Type Quantity Details Tanks PT-76 Soviet Union Light tank: 10 [2]: Type 62 China Light tank 30 [2]: T-55 Soviet Union Medium tank: 32 [2]: Type 59 China Main battle tank
Pages in category "Military history of the Democratic Republic of the Congo" The following 24 pages are in this category, out of 24 total. This list may not reflect recent changes .
Military history of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (10 C, 24 P) L. ... Democratic Republic of the Congo military personnel (42 P) Z. Military of Zaire (4 P)