page_title: Ninja (militia)
hierarchical_section_title: Ninja (militia)
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Des ex- rebelles Ninjas réclament leur réinsertion socio-économique, 20 juin 2019 à Kinkala, Congo-Brazzaville. (VOA/Arsène Séverin)
context_page_description: The Ninjas were a militia in the Republic of the Congo, which participated in numerous wars and insurgencies in the 1990s and 2000s. The Ninjas were formed by the politician Bernard Kolélas in the early 1990s and were commanded by Frédéric Bintsamou, alias Pastor Ntoumi, when Kolelas was in exile.
  The militia fought the supporters of President Pascal Lissouba in the 1993–94 Civil War. In the 1997-99 Civil War, they allied with Lissouba's forces against the supporters of former President Denis Sassou Nguesso. After Sassou Nguesso's victory in this Civil War, Ntoumi's Ninjas fought an insurgency against his government in the Pool Department. The conflict in the Pool escalated in a series of violent clashes in 2002-03, after which the Ninja leadership eventually gave up their armed struggle. Ntoumi announced the disbanding of the Ninjas in 2008 but they resurfaced in 2016, starting the Pool War.
context_section_description: The Ninjas were a militia in the Republic of the Congo, which participated in numerous wars and insurgencies in the 1990s and 2000s. The Ninjas were formed by the politician Bernard Kolélas in the early 1990s and were commanded by Frédéric Bintsamou, alias Pastor Ntoumi, when Kolelas was in exile.
  The militia fought the supporters of President Pascal Lissouba in the 1993–94 Civil War. In the 1997-99 Civil War, they allied with Lissouba's forces against the supporters of former President Denis Sassou Nguesso. After Sassou Nguesso's victory in this Civil War, Ntoumi's Ninjas fought an insurgency against his government in the Pool Department. The conflict in the Pool escalated in a series of violent clashes in 2002-03, after which the Ninja leadership eventually gave up their armed struggle. Ntoumi announced the disbanding of the Ninjas in 2008 but they resurfaced in 2016, starting the Pool War.
caption: Former Ninja fighters in 2019
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