The Ruins of Bukavu After Mercenary Occupation | Congo-Kinshasa | November 1967

Tuesday, November 14th, 1967. Footage of the aftermath of the battle in the mountain town of Bukavu between soldiers of L'Armée nationale congolaise, the army of the central government of Congo-Kinshasa, and mercenaries under the command of the Belgian Jean "Black Jack" Schramme. Schramme and his men had revolted against the central government over the incarceration of Moise Tshombe in Algeria after Thombe's plane was hijacked over the Mediterannean. Schramme had issued an ultimatum to Mobutu to hand over power to Tshombe by August 20th, 1967 while Mobutu himself issued a counter to the ultimatum by giving them 10 days to surrender or "face spectacular punishment." The mercenaries were defeated in early November and forced to flee into neighbouring Rwanda where they signed a pledge never to return to the African continent. Journalists invited by the central government were first taken to Luberizi, where Brigadier General Leopold Massiala had his headquarters, before going on to Bukavu.They viewed the damaged and ransacked houses. Footage: Reuters News Archive. NB. Adeyinka Makinde | Writer: A potted history of the shifts in mercenary loyalty in the former Belgian Congo from 1960 to 1967 https://adeyinkamakinde.blogspot.com/...