Katanga Secession

The mineral-rich province of Katanga declared independence from the Congo in July 1960 under Moïse Tshombe. Belgian officers, foreign mercenaries and mining companies supported the secession.

United Nations forces gradually moved from peacekeeping to military operations intended to end Katanga’s separation. The secession collapsed in January 1963, although instability continued elsewhere in the Congo.

This is the most specific context for fiction set around Elisabethville, Katangese gendarmes, mercenaries, diamond or mining interests and United Nations intervention.