The early 1960s was a time of conflict in the present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo. Belgium’s abrupt decolonization threw the country into chaos, and United Nations peacekeepers were called in when the province of Katanga seceded.

On this day in 1961, the UN peacekeepers launched a military operation to gain strategic positions around Elisabethville (now Lubumbashi) after Katangan rebels attempted to isolate UN troops from each other.

You can read on at the link to learn more about the Congo Crisis and to learn about the evacuations from Elisabethville that took place when the military operation started.

On this day in 1960, Belgium suddenly handed over control of the Congo to a slapdash representative government. Because of the turnover, within a week the newly independent African nation descended into chaos.

Two different U.S. Foreign Service Officers discuss their opinions of this hasty handover and the violent repercussions that happened as a result. Read what they said at the link.