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The invasion apparently caught Mobutu's troops in Shaba by surprise. The rebels came from two directions. Some moved along the Benguela railroad, which runs from Shaba through Angola to the Atlantic Ocean. Others passed through the northern tip of Zambia, whose Lunda tribesmen are friendly kin of the Katangese exiles. They traveled in small groups and wore native dress, but carried AK-47s and other Soviet-made equipment over their shoulders. They insisted that no "Cubbanos" had come with them. Nonetheless, guerrillas declared that their goal was not simply the liberation of Shaba from Kinshasa's rule but the ouster of Mobutu and the creation of a more radical government in Zaïre.
Both Westerners in Shaba and the province's citizens have vivid, unpleasant memories of the last incursion. Says one European professional who befriended the tigers while living under their 1977 occupation: "They said this would be another Viet Nam. They told us frankly they were not secessionists but an army of liberation whose aim was to take over the whole of Zaïre. All of us were told that if we were still here when they returned, it would be the end of us. We would then be considered pro-Mobutu. Last year when the guerrillas came in, they were welcomed by the people with joy and jubilation. But after a short time, they realized that things were going to be even worse than they were under Mobutu." The guerrillas, apparently, were abusive and rough with the local population; many of them were seen drunk or high on marijuana. When they left, they took hundreds of youths, many no older than twelve, as conscripted recruits to their cause. Says one disillusioned supporter: "They behaved just like soldiers."
In repelling last year's incursion, Mobutu's troops also behaved like soldiers —or worse. People suspected of helping the rebels were herded into huts, which were then doused with gasoline and set afire. Only the presence of the Moroccans, tribesmen say, prevented the death toll from rising into the thousands. As it is, the Lunda people are terrified of reprisals if the new rebel attack on Shaba is turned back. "We want to be left in peace," says Chief Lukama, leader of a Lunda contingent that sought refuge in Zambia. "We are eager to go back home to Zaïre when it is peaceful. We don't mind Mobutu if he would just leave us alone. But he has never left our people alone."