Ninja (militia)
| Ninja | |
|---|---|
| Participant in the 1993–94 conflict in the Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo Civil War (1997–99), and the 2002–03 conflict in the Pool Department | |
| Active | Early 1990s – 2008 |
| Leaders |
Bernard Kolélas Frédéric Bintsangou a.k.a. Pastor Ntoumi |
| Headquarters |
Brazzaville (until 1997) |
| Area of operations | Republic of the Congo |
| Strength | Estimates of some hundred active and up to 3000 loosely attached fighters as of 2002 |
| Allies | 1993-94 conflict: Cobra militia 1997-99 Civil War: Cocoye militia, Republic of the Congo (1997) |
| Opponents | Republic of the Congo, Cocoye militia (1993–94), Cobra militia (from 1997), Angola (1997) |
Brazzaville (until 1997)
The Ninjas were a militia in the Republic of the Congo, which participated in numerous wars and insurgencies in the 1990s and 2000s. The Ninjas were formed by the politician Bernard Kolélas in the early 1990s and were commanded by Frédéric Bintsamou, alias Pastor Ntoumi when Kolelas was in exile. They fought the supporters of President Pascal Lissouba in the 1993-94 armed conflict in the Congo. In the 1997-99 Republic of the Congo Civil War, they allied with Lissouba's forces against the supporters of former President Denis Sassou Nguesso. After Sassou Nguesso's victory in the Civil War, Ntoumi's Ninjas fought an insurgency against his government in the Pool Department. The conflict in the Pool escalated in a series of violent clashes in 2002-03, after which the Ninja leadership eventually gave up their armed struggle. Ntoumi announced the disbanding of the Ninjas in 2008.
Formed by and originally loyal to Bernard Kolélas, the Ninja militia was associated with the Bakongo ethnic group. The militia was named after the ninja of feudal Japan. The Ninja field commander, Pastor Ntoumi, has been described as a cult leader and a "messianic pastor". In 2003, he told a journalist that the Holy Spirit told him to revive the Ninjas. Ninja militiamen wore the colour purple (symbolizing suffering), and had their hair in dreadlocks. They were reported to believe that the apocalypse was near. A Ninja leader quoted in a 2000 report claimed that there were "almost 16,000 Ninjas in the Pool region". According to a 2002 news report by IRIN News, analysts believed Ntoumi commanded "only a few hundred dedicated fighters and up to 3,000 more loosely attached", the latter of which were divided and unenthusiastic.
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