Mercenaries in Katanga

As of February 1961, Moise Tshombe started importing more foreign mercenaries to assist his force of Gendarmes. The international community termed the act as the "Mercenary Problem" and became a major concern of the UNOC (United Nations Operations in the Congo). Adding more mercenaries to the Katangese Army that was already staffed with around 117 Belgian officers that chose to stay even after the majority were expelled, had already become a thorn in the UNOC's side.

The UNOC tried to "remove" some mercenaries during the earlier part of 1961, labeling them "illegal combatants" only for them to be replaced by over 500 mercenaries from Rhodesia, France, Britain, and South Africa. Some of the most notable mercenaries were the highly professional French career soldiers that were veterans of the Algerian War and headed the para commando training program in Katanga.

Shortly after the mass arrival of more mercenary forces, Congolese-Leopoldville Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba had been deposed, kidnapped, and supposedly assassinated by the Katangese with the direct support of Belgium, and the indirect support of the CIA. Moise Tshombe then declared himself president.

Lumumba’s death resulted in mass protests, which were not only confined to the Congo. Serious fighting soon broke out after Tshombe began to incite both Katangese civilians and white mercenaries to attack UN forces after the ONUC dispatched elements of the nearly 5,000 strong 99th Indian Infantry Brigade into the capital after Lumumba's death.