Niemba Ambush

Part of the Congo Crisis

Date	8 November 1960
Location	Niemba, Katanga Province, Congo (region claimed by State of Katanga)
Result	Baluba victory

Belligerents

ONUC

Ireland

Luba warriors

Commanders and leaders

Kevin Gleeson †

Unknown

Strength

11 men

100 men

Casualties and losses

9 killed
1 wounded

25 killed
Unknown wounded

ONUC

The Niemba Ambush took place on 8 November 1960, when an Irish Army platoon in the Congo was ambushed and all of its men killed or forced to flee by Baluba tribesmen, the first time being embroiled in battle against a foreign nation's army since the Irish War of Independence. The Republic of Ireland had deployed troops as United Nations Operation in the Congo (ONUC) peacekeepers.

The notoriety of the attack, and the allegations of mutilation and cannibalism that circulated in the Irish popular press in its aftermath, led to the word 'baluba' (sometimes spelled 'balooba') becoming a synonym for any 'untrustworthy and barbaric' individual in certain parts of Ireland.

However, the ambush was largely the result of mistaken identity. The Baluba tribesmen seem to have mistaken the Irish UN troops for European mercenaries in the service of the State of Katanga, with whom they had recently been in conflict, the Balubas being opposed to Katangan secession. The Irish were part of a UN contingent that was sent to halt the Katangan secession from the Congo.

After the Belgian Congo became independent (as Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville)) in 1960, a civil war broke out in Katanga, the southern, mineral-rich province of the Congo. A separatist movement was fueled by mining companies who sought to continue their control of the resources in the region, as well as by local and tribal grievances. A local political leader, Moise Tshombe declared independence for Katanga, backed tacitly by former colonial power Belgium and by France and Britain. United Nations peacekeeping troops were invited to help restore order and to end the Katanga secession. The Republic of Ireland supplied troops as part of the UN force at the behest of Irish diplomat Conor Cruise O'Brien, who at that time was the UN special representative for Katanga.

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Wikipedia