page_title: United Nations Operation in the Congo
section_title: End of the Katangan secession
hierarchical_section_title: United Nations Operation in the Congo / Operations / End of the Katangan secession
caption_attribution_description: Svenska: Svenska FN-trupper i Kongo. Major Sture Fagerström, orienterar sina plutonchefer före anfallet mot Kaminaville i Katanga, Kongo.English: Swedish UN troops in Congo. Major Sture Fagerström, informs his platoon leaders before the attack on Kaminaville in Katanga, Congo.
context_page_description: The United Nations Operation in the Congo was a peacekeeping force established by the United Nations to maintain order in the Republic of the Congo on 14 July 1960 amid the Congo Crisis. ONUC was the UN's first peacekeeping mission with significant military capabilities. It was withdrawn in 1964.
  Following Security Council actions, the United Nations Organisation in the Congo was established. To carry out these tasks, the Secretary-General set up a United Nations Force—at its peak strength numbering nearly 20,000. The UN Force stayed in the Congo between 1960 and 1964, and underwent a transition from a peacekeeping presence to a military force.
  ONUC's main goals stayed consistent from the first to fifth resolution. It aimed to both have Belgian military personnel withdrawn and to provide military assistance to ensure internal stability. The successive Security Council resolutions added to and elaborated on the initial mandate but did not fundamentally change the operation's objectives. These were especially significant because Belgium's invasion violated the norm of sovereignty, and the second objective was set to prevent the country from becoming a Cold War client state.
context_section_description: The United Nations launched Operation Unokat in early December 1961, which put pressure on Tshombe to enter serious negotiations with Congolese Prime Minister Cyrille Adoula. On 16 December the attack on Camp Massart took place were the stronghold of the Katangese Gendarmerie was captured. On 21 December Tshombe signed the Kitona Declaration, an agreement whereby he would recognize the authority of the central government and work to reintegrate Katanga into the Republic of the Congo. However, Tshombe subsequently deferred to the Katangan Parliament and put off any action of reconciliation. In January 1962 the rival government of the Free Republic of the Congo was finally subdued and the UN was able to refocus its efforts on ending the Katangan secession. By then contact between the central government and Katanga had broken down, and ONUC intelligence reports indicated that the latter was rebuilding its forces.
  In August 1962 Secretary General Thant drew up a "Plan for National Reconciliation" by which Katanga would rejoin a federalized Congo. Adoula and Tshombe both accepted the proposal. Thant was wary of Tshombe's delaying tactics and applied increasing political pressure on the Katangan government to abide by the plan's timetable. Still doubting the likelihood of a peaceful resolution of the Katangan secession, he sent Ralph Bunche to Léopoldville. There, Bunch worked with local UN Mission Chief Robert Gardiner and UN Force Commander Sean MacEoin to create a plan to achieve freedom of movement for ONUC personnel and eliminate the foreign mercenaries. By then it was obvious that Tshombe did not intend on rejoining the Congo; there were 300–500 mercenaries in Katanga (as many as there had been before previous UN operations) and new airfields and defensive positions were being constructed. ONUC personnel and even consuls from troop-contributing supporters of ONUC faced increasing harassment at the hands of Katangan forces.
  The situation came to a breaking point on 24 December 1962 when Katangan gendarmes brazenly attacked peacekeeping forces in Katanga, causing Thant to authorize a retaliatory offensive to decisively eliminate secessionist opposition.
  Major General Dewan Prem Chand launched Operation Grandslam on 28 December and by the end of the day UN troops had seized downtown Élisabethville. Reinforced by recently amassed air power, United Nations peacekeepers successfully completed the first phase of the operation by the end of the year. In early January the United Nations forces turned their attention towards remaining strongholds in southern Katanga. Indian peacekeepers surpassed their orders and crossed the Lufira River ahead of schedule, generating panic behind the Katangan lines and causing an incident among United Nations leadership. Tshombe, realizing that his position was untenable, sued for peace on 15 January 1963. Two days later he signed an instrument of surrender and declared the Katangan secession to be over.
caption: Swedish troops plan offensive actions for Operation Grandslam
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