SUMMARY
FLNC (Front de libération nationale congolais, Congolese National Liberation Front, also known as the Katangan Tigers) was a Congolese rebel group that fought to overthrow the Mobutu government in 1977, and then again in 1978. These wars are commonly known as Shaba I and Shaba II since the group managed to take control over some territory in the Shaba Region (formerly and later known as Katanga). In the towns under its control, FLNC quickly managed to elect new administrators and hand out wages.
The roots of FLNC can be traced to the early history of the Congolese State. Weeks after gaining independence from Belgium in 1960, the Shaba province declared secession from the newly independent Congo, forming the State of Katanga under the leadership of Moise Tshombe. The State of Katanga had a military force called the Katangan Gendarmerie and managed to survive almost three years before being defeated.
Nathanaël Mbumba was FNLA’s head and founder. He had been a police officer in the mining town Kolwezi during Katanga’s independence (for more info on the Katangan Independence see DR Congo (Zaire): Katanga). He was later jailed but fled to Angola and formed a movement of political refugees in June 1968. As a thank you for helping the Angolan MPLA to fight back the opposition Mbumba was given a fiefdom in Texeira de Souza and a promise of support in his fight against Mobutu.
FLNC was formed by former Katangan gendarmes that had received sanctuary in Angola after the military Defeat of the State of Katanga. These gendarmes had been a part of the Angolan rebel group MPLA (Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola, Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola), when it fought for the liberation of Angola from its colonial power, Portugal. In Angola the group had adopted a socialist ideology and they had been trained by East Germany. Most members of FLNC belonged to the Lunda ethnic group.
During the first Shaba war in 1977, FLNC consisted of 1500 - 2500 rebels, and by the second Shaba war in 1978, the group’s numbers had nearly doubled to some 4000 rebels. FLNC was supported by East Germany, which supplied weapons and training.
