When the UN would not crush Katanga, Lumumba turned to the Soviet Union. The USA saw a Cold War threat and backed his rivals. Lumumba was overthrown and murdered.
Lumumba asked the UN for help against Belgium. On 14 July 1960 the Security Council called on Belgium to withdraw and authorised a UN force, ONUC.
But UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold would not use the force to end Katanga's secession, which he saw as an internal matter. Lumumba accepted Soviet trucks and aircraft for an attack on South Kasai, in which many Baluba civilians were killed.
The USA feared that Lumumba would bring the Congo into the Soviet camp. The CIA plotted to kill him.
In September 1960 President Kasavubu dismissed Lumumba. Army chief Joseph Mobutu, backed by the USA, then seized power and expelled Soviet-bloc diplomats.
Lumumba was arrested. In January 1961 he was flown to Katanga and murdered there, with Belgian officers present. His supporters formed a rival government in Stanleyville, recognised by the Soviet bloc.
- ONUC
- UN force authorised 14 July 1960.
- Mobutu's coup
- September 1960, backed by the USA.
- Lumumba killed
- January 1961, in Katanga.
Worked example: Assessing external actors
How did the Cold War change the crisis?
- Before: a local crisis of decolonisation.
- Turning point: Soviet aid to Lumumba in August 1960.
- US response: support for Kasavubu and Mobutu.
- Result: rival governments backed by rival blocs.
Watch out for this
Lumumba was a Soviet-controlled communist.
Lumumba was a nationalist who turned to the USSR after the UN refused to help him end Katanga's secession. The USA treated him as a Cold War threat.
Check your understanding
Why did Lumumba turn to the Soviet Union in 1960?
- The UN would not use force to end Katanga's secession.
- Belgium had asked him to.
- He wanted to join the Warsaw Pact.