Welensky once told a journalist that he was considering incorporating the Belgian Congo's Katanga Province into the Federation. After the Belgian Congo gained independence in 1960 as the Republic of the Congo, it collapsed into a state of anarchy within a fortnight. The large Belgian population of the Congo fled from the violence into neighbouring states, including the Federation. Welensky dispatched the Royal Rhodesian Air Force (RRAF) to assist in their evacuation, but was prevented by the British government from entering the Congo itself. Refugees fled by foot to Ndola in Northern Rhodesia, where RRAF planes picked them up and flew them to camps in Salisbury. More than 6,000 people were evacuated by the RRAF.