Katanga
Katanga was a region in the Democratic Republic of Congo that proclaimed its independence on 11 July 1960, sparking a war with the Congolese government. Although technically an "unrecognized state" the government of Katanga had a legitimate leader in president Moise Tshombe, and was initially supported by Belgian business interests and as many as 6,000 Belgian military personnel. Katanga was one of the richest and most developed areas of the Congo, with profits from copper, gold and uranium mining contributing significantly to the nation's coffers, one of the primary reasons for Congolese resistance to the secession. Katanga was also accused, in January 1961, of orchestrating the torture and execution of deposed Congolese president Patrice Lumumba, although interestingly this provided a very convenient additional excuse for military intervention of the Armée Nationale Congolaise (ANC). In February of that year, the United Nations passed a resolution that authorized "all appropriate measures" to prevent civil war. This resolution would, in fact, be utilized simply as justification for a military intervention on the part of UN forces, effectively putting Katangan forces at war on two separate fronts.
With the assistance of a handful of European emigres and Belgian advisors, the Katangan Gendarmerie was converted into an effective military force, augmented by several hundred mercenaries recruited in Europe. Without the intervention of the United Nations, Katanga might well have been able to resist the poorly trained and largely undisciplined ANC, who had recently lost most of their European officers and NCOs following a mutiny that impelled most Europeans to flee the country.
- As an ex-Belgian colony, Zairean forces did make limited use of Belgian camouflage stocks that were left in country after the European power vacated. Most common were the brushstroke designs, worn especially during the early years of independence from Belgium. However, some examples of the Belgian jigsaw pattern have also been documented.
