Why and how did the Belgian troops leave Congo in the Congo Crisis during the 1960s?
The Belgians granted Congo independence in a very short period of time – months not years so there was no planning or training. There were no real political parties and very few administrators and almost no officiers to take over. When independence came the Congolese were glad to see the back of their former masters – though this was in part due to the extreme cruelty of the first regime run by the King and not Belgium. After independence Belgium thought they would still be influential and perhaps the power behind the throne. However the new govt had different ideas. After a series of mutinies the Belgian army returned to protect their nationals. The UN mission eventually took over and the Belgians had to ho. They did return periodically to rescue their trapped nationals caught up in further revolts and also helped the Katangese in their bid for independence.
