August 30, 1998 – Second Congo War: The Congolese Army and its Angolan and Zimbabwean allies recapture Matadi from Rwandan forces
On August 30, 1998, forces of the Democratic Republic ofCongo (DRC), together with their Angolan and Zimbabwean allies, recaptured thetown of Matadifrom Rwandan forces and the Rally for Congolese Democracy (RCD) militia duringthe ongoing Second Congo War.
(Taken from Second Congo War – Wars of the 20th Century – Volume 1)
By this time, Angolan forces also had come to the aid of Democratic Republic of the Cong (DRC) President Kabila’s beleaguered regime, entering through the Angolan province of Cabinda. The Angolans took control of the Congo’s western region, including liberating the towns of Matadi and Kitona, and moved eastward to meet up with the Zimbabwean Army in Kinshasa. More Zimbabwean forces began pouring in via Zambia into southern Congo, with the aim of securing Mbuji-Mayi, a diamond-rich mining town in Kasai-Oriental Province. With military forces from Namibia deploying in the western Congo and those from Chad entering through the north, both in support of the Congolese government, and Burundi, backing the invaders, the conflict threatened to expand into a full-blown multinational war (in fact, the war has been called “Africa’s World War”).
With Kinshasasecure by early September, the Angola-Zimbabwe-Congo coalition made plans tolaunch an offensive into rebel-held territories further east. Rwandaand Ugandahad recruited extensively – some 100,000 new soldiers were brought to thefrontlines, greatly overmatching in numbers the combined Angolan-Zimbabweanforces (the latter, however, consisted mainly of elite combat units). Both sides of the conflict also increased thestrength of their battle tanks, armored vehicles, artillery, and warplanes.
In the following months, a number of indecisive battles tookplace, as each side tried to expand its control in northern Katanga Provinceand in central Congo. In northern Congo,the Ugandan Army organized the Movement for the Liberation of the Congo, a proxy militia, to serve as its advanceforce in its offensive into northeast Congo.
Background of theSecond Congo War TheFirst Congo War (previous article) ended when Laurent-Désiré Kabila took overpower in Zaire. He formed a new government and named himselfthe country’s president. He renamed thecountry the “Democratic Republic of the Congo”. President Kabila faced enormous problems: thecountry’s infrastructure was in ruins partly because of the war but mainlybecause of neglect by the previous regime; the economy was devastated; and mostof the people lived in poverty.
And these were the least of President Kabila’sproblems. He was most concerned abouthis tenuous hold on power. He had mergedhis rebel forces with the Rwandan Army, which produced tensions between the twoformer enemies. Furthermore, somemilitary officers remained loyal to ex-President Mobutu Sese Seko, the deposedtyrant.
To consolidate power, President Kabila set up anauthoritarian regime, centralized power, and appointed relatives and friends totop government positions. Hisadministration was accused of nepotism, abuse of power, and corruption, andPresident Kabila’s critics drew similarities between his government and theformer regime – implying that nothing had changed.
More crucial image-wise for President Kabila was theubiquitous presence in the Congoof foreign troops, particularly those from Rwandaand Uganda;these countries had helped him win the First Congo War. The Congolese people perceived the foreignarmies as holding real power in the country, with President Kabila merelyacting as a figurehead. For this reason,on July 14, 1998, President Kabila sacked his Armed Forces chief of staff, aRwandan, an act that began a chain of events that led to the Second Congo War.
On July 27, President Kabila ordered the Rwandan and UgandanArmies to leave the country. A weeklater, he terminated the appointments of all Tutsi public officials. The Congolese people regarded the Tutsis asforeigners, despite the fact that Banyamulenge Tutsis were long established inthe Congo’seastern provinces.
As a result of President Kabila’s edict, Uganda pulled out its forces from the Congo. The Rwandan government also ordered itsforces to withdraw, not out of the Congo,but to the remote, weakly defended Kivu Provinces in eastern Congo. Rwanda believed that its securityconcerns – the main reason for its involvement in the First Congo War – had notbeen fully met. In particular, theRwandan government noted that the Hutu militias had reorganized and once againwere carrying out raids into Rwanda. Furthermore, the Banyamulenge Tutsis, who hadformed an alliance with Rwandaduring the First Congo War, requested the Rwandans to remain in the KivuProvinces. The Banyamulenge’scitizenship had been revoked by a new law, and the Congolese government orderedthem to leave the country.
Rwandaand Ugandaorganized the Banyamulenge into a proxy militia called the “Rally for CongoleseDemocracy”, or RCD, whose aim was to overthrow President Kabila. As in the First Congo War, Rwanda and Uganda used a proxy force to fighttheir wars, as direct intervention by their armies was a violation ofinternational law.
