ZAIRE: The Shaba Tigers Return

ZAÏRE

And the West once more helps Mobutu stop an invasion

Once again the copper-rich region of Shaba (formerly Katanga Province) in southeastern Zaïre was engulfed in civil war. An estimated 5,000 Katangese. guerrillas of the Congolese National Liberation Front (F.L.N.C.), which has been seeking autonomy for Shaba since Zaïre gained its independence from Belgium in 1960, launched a deadly strike on the region from their bases in Marxist-run Angola. In a seesaw battle with the forces of President Mobutu Sese Seko, the Katangese rebels—who variously refer to themselves as les tigres (French...

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