page_title: Land Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
section_title: United Nations
hierarchical_section_title: Land Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo / Other forces active in the country / United Nations
caption_attribution_description: English: Locations of military units deployed to the Democratic Republic of Congo as part of the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) at December 2009. Based on UN Map No. 4121 Rev. 44
context_page_description: The Land Forces, also called the Congolese Army, are the land warfare component and the largest branch of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
  The current Congolese army has its origins in the Force Publique that was active in the Belgian Congo, which was renamed the Congolese National Army when the country gained independence from Belgium in 1960. During the regime of Mobutu Sese Seko, it was renamed the Armed Forces of Zaire in 1971 with the country's name change from Congo to Zaire. Under Mobutu's leadership the FAZ was used to put down various rebellions but was deliberately kept weak to prevent any possible coup, resulting in its collapse in the face of Laurent Kabila's AFDL rebel movement during the First Congo War. After Kabila's overthrow of Mobutu the former FAZ troops and various rebels that supported him were in no condition to fight the invasion by Rwandan-backed militant groups during the Second Congo War and largely collapsed.
  The peace agreement signed in 2002 initiated the process of uniting former rebel groups in a national army, the Forces du Terrestres of the FARDC, reorganizing them into multiple brigades.
context_section_description: There are currently large numbers of United Nations troops stationed in the DRC. The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) As of 31 August 2011 had a strength of over 19,000 peacekeepers (including 16,998 military personnel) and has a mission of assisting Congolese authorities maintain security. The UN and foreign military aid missions, the most prominent being EUSEC RD Congo, are attempting to assist the Congolese in rebuilding the armed forces, with major efforts being made in trying to assure regular payment of salaries to armed forces personnel and also in military justice. Retired Canadian Lieutenant General Marc Caron also served for a time as Security Sector Reform advisor to the head of MONUC.
caption: Locations of MONUC units as at December 2009
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