Katangese Gendarmerie
The Katangese Gendarmerie (), officially the Katangese Armed Forces (), was the paramilitary force of the unrecognized State of Katanga in Central Africa from 1960 to 1963. The forces were formed upon the secession of Katanga from the Republic of the Congo with help from Belgian soldiers and former officers of the "Force Publique". Belgian troops also provided much of the early training for the Gendarmerie, which was mainly composed of Katangese but largely led by Belgians and later European mercenaries.

Throughout the existence of the State of Katanga, the gendarmes sporadically fought various tribes and the Armée Nationale Congolaise (ANC). In February 1961 the Gendarmerie initiated a series of operations aimed at suppressing anti-secessionist rebels of the Association Générale des Baluba du Katanga (BALUBAKAT) in North Katanga. The campaign was largely successful, but the fighting led to atrocities and gendarmes were halted by forces of the United Nations Operation in the Congo (ONUC) during the Battle of Kabalo in April 1961. ONUC then initiated efforts to remove foreign mercenaries from the Gendarmerie, and launched Operation Rum Punch to arrest them in August 1961. They came into conflict with ONUC three times after, in Operation Morthor (September 1961), Operation UNOKAT (December 1961), and Operation Grandslam (December 1962). Operation Grandslam marked the end of the Katangese secession in January 1963.

After the secession, many gendarmes returned to civilian life or were integrated with the ANC. However, around 8,000 refused to, and many kept their arms and roamed North Rhodesia, Angola and Katanga. Many crossed the Congo border into Angola, where Portuguese colonial authorities assisted and trained them. They were involved in several mutinies and attempted invasions of the Congo, most notably the Stanleyville mutinies in 1966 and 1967.

After 1967, around 2,500 gendarmes were present in Angola, where they were reorganized as the Congolese National Liberation Front (FLNC) and fought in the Angolan War of Independence on the side of the Portuguese government against the Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola (MPLA) and União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola (UNITA). When the war ended in 1975, they fought in the Angolan Civil War against the National Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA). The FLNC was involved in Shaba I and II, attempted invasions of Katanga. Split into factions after the war, the Tigres emerged and played a decisive role in the First Congo War. There has since been little gendarme presence, but they have emerged as a symbol of secessionist thinking.
Q1148907
State of Katanga
ORG
Q27433
Central Africa
LOC
Q618399
Republic of the Congo
LOC
Q2257572
Belgian soldiers
ORG
Q1002820
Force Publique
ORG
Q3076950
Armée Nationale Congolaise
ORG
None
Association Générale des Baluba du Katanga
UNK
Q699009
United Nations Operation in the Congo
MEDIA
Q85745853
Battle of Kabalo
EVE
Q29469872
Operation Rum Punch
PER
Q699009
Operation Morthor
MEDIA
Q106819357
Operation UNOKAT
UNK
Q28133839
Operation Grandslam
PER
Q953903
North Rhodesia
LOC
Q6416407
Stanleyville mutinies
MEDIA
Q3088524
Congolese National Liberation Front
ORG
Q1780216
Angolan War of Independence
EVE
Q28551
Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola
ORG
Q28699
União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola
ORG
Q12055176
Angolan Civil War
EVE
Q907051
National Liberation Front of Angola
ORG
Q3290619
Shaba I
EVE
Q2745406
II
EVE
Q65133594
Tigres
Concept
Q838695
First Congo War
EVE
Q2862967
Katangese Gendarmerie
Concept
1960-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1960
DATE
1963-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1963
DATE
1961-02-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
February 1961
DATE
1961-04-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
April 1961
DATE
1961-08-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
August 1961
DATE
1961-09-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
September 1961
DATE
1961-12-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
December 1961
DATE
1962-12-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
December 1962
DATE
1963-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
January 1963
DATE
1966-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1966
DATE
1967-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1967
DATE
1967-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1967
DATE
1975-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1975
DATE
country
replaces
dissolved, abolished or demolished date
participant