In late 1996, Eluki Monga Aundu, the Army Chief of Staff of the Zairean Armed Forces, stated to Prime Minister Léon Kengo that launching a counter-offensive against the invading forces in the Kivu Provinces would be impossible without the use of mercenaries. Aundu asked Kengo to set up a plan to hire mercenaries, which was also approved by President Mobutu Sese Seko. From that point on the use of mercenaries was allowed. Mobutu apparently sought the help of Executive Outcomes, a private military company which had already worked in both the Angolan and Sierra Leone Civil Wars. He however refused their offer after deeming the price too high. He then, amongst others, chose soldiers that until recently had been serving in the Bosnian Serb Army.