ABSTRACT
Central Africa suffered frequent and wide-spread conflict from the mid-1950s. France intervened within independent People's Republic of the Congo in 1963, as did Cuba in 1966, during domestic disorders. France intervened under similar circumstances within Gabon in 1964 and the Central African Republic in 1979. British and French forces conquered Germany's Kamerun protectorate during World War I. France subsequently administered northern Cameroon under League of Nations mandate and continued to do so under UN trust following World War II. Revolt centered within the Bamileke region continued after Cameroon gained independence in 1960. French counterinsurgency action also persisted after independence. The Congo Republic became independent of France in 1960 under a government formed around the nationalist leader Fulbert Youlou. Jean-Hillaire Aubame, leader of the rival Democratic and Social Union party and who opposed close ties to France, joined a coalition cabinet that survived until February 1963 when Mba assumed full powers.
