History of Kisangani

d 1967, Kisangani was the site of the Mercenaries' Mutinies, who pillaged the city. The Armée Nationale Congolaise, Belgian Armed Forces and United States troops opposed the mercenary forces and took control of the city in 1967 under a U.N. mandate.

With the assumption of the "Zairianization" program in the 1970s by Mobutu Sese Seko, Stanleyville was officially renamed Kisangani and Stanley Falls became Wagenia Falls, and as of October 27, 1977 the municipalities were renamed as follows: Belgian I (Mangobo and Tshopo ), Belgian II (Lubunga), Brussels (Kabondo) and Stanley (Makiso).

Africa's World War

In the 1990s, the area emerged as the theatre for a series of major battles known as the fight of Kisangani during the First Congo War. Laurent-Désiré Kabila, leader of the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo invaded the Congo from the eastern region of the country with assistance from Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda military forces. As of 30 October in 1998, there were 15,000 Ugandan and 19,000 Rwandan troops on Congolese soil. Laurent Kabila designated Kisangani as the forward base for the foreign forces as he marched westwards towards Kinshasa to overthrow Mobutu Sese Seko.

The alliance of foreign military forces disintegrated when people of Hutu descent were massacred by the thousands in western Zaire and because of looting in the mining areas, in particular, Kisangani and the Kivus. The population was completely opposed to the presence of foreign forces because of their behaviour. Laurent-Désiré Kabila could not continue to support the use of Kisangani as the base for foreign fighters as they launched attacks to massacre the Hutu people - hence he demanded that Rwanda pull its forces out of the country.

In 1999, the city was the site