ABSTRACT
YVON LEWA-LET MANDHA In June 1997 a civil war began in the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville) which
resulted in the overthrow of President Lissouba by his adversary Général Sassou-
Nguesso, on the 15 th
October. In December 1998, ‘ninja’ militiamen close to
Bernard Kolekas, former Prime Minister of the fallen Government, restarted
hostilities. Whole districts of Brazzaville were emptied as the population fled from
exactions of all kinds. The South of the country fell prey to barbarism as the
‘cocoyes’ and the ‘Zulus’ still faithful to Pascal Lissouba brought the war to their
zones of influence. In the face of this rebellion, the army was helped by Angolan
troops and the ‘cobras’, militiamen close to Sassou, among others. Pointe-Noir,
the country’s economic capital, was spared these conflicts.
