Battle of Kinsangani (1997)

Battle of Kinsangani
Part of the First Congo War
City of Kisangani, 2006
Date March 13 to 15, 1997 Location Kisangani, République démocratique du Congo Result Rebel victory
Belligerents
Zaire Interahamwe UNITA White Legion	AFDL  Rwanda  Angola
Commanders and leaders
Mahele Lieko Bokungu James Kabarebe	Laurent-Désiré Kabila Joseph Kabila

The Battle of Kisangani took place in March 1997 during the First Congo War. The rebels of the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (AFDL), supported by the Rwandan Patriotic Front, took the city defended by the Zairian Armed Forces (FAZ) which was loyal to President Mobutu Sese Seko.

Before the battle itself, the air force, Serbian mercenaries and Rwandan Hutu militiamen were not enough to make up for the FAZ's lack of fighting spirit. After a few timid Zairian offensives in January 1997, the rebels commanded by James Kabarebe arrived in the vicinity of the town of Kisangani. Between March 1 and 10, the AFDL's advance was blocked, with both sides suffering losses. On the 14th, a general rebel assault put Mobutist cadres and soldiers to flight, with the latter looting the region as they retreated. Several hundred Rwandan Hutu refugees were killed by the rebels in the weeks that followed.

The battle marked the FAZ's inevitable defeat at the hands of Laurent Désiré Kabila's troops, who took Kinshasa in May 1997.