Simba Rebellion The Simba Rebellion was a 1964 rebellion in the former Republic of Congo ( the modern Democratic Republic of Congo ) which began as a result of alleged abuses by the Congolese central government . It formed part of the turbulent history of the country in the first half of the 1960s . Simbas . The rebels were led by Pierre Mulele , Gaston Soumialot and Christophe Gbenye who were former members of Gizenga ' s Parti Solidaire Africain ( PSA ) . The leaders of the rebels were politically leftists . Most of their fighters however were tribesmen from the provinces of Kivu and Orientale . Many of them came from traditional African cultures with animist beliefs . The name " Simba " comes from the fact that the tribal fighters were told by shamans that they would be immune to bullets , and would be transformed into " Simbas " ( the Swahili word for lions ) when they were in battle . Early fighting . The Simbas managed to intimidate two well - equipped battalions of government Armee Nationale Congolaise ( ANC ) soldiers into retreating without a fight . The Simbas quickly started to capture important cities . Within weeks , about half of the Congo was in their control . By August they had captured Stanleyville ( since 1977 , Kisangani ) , a large city , when the 1500 man government force fled , leaving behind their munitions ( including mortars and armored vehicles ) for the Simbas to take . The attack consisted of a charge , led by shamans , with forty Simba warriors . No shots were fired by the Simbas . As the rebel movement spread , discipline became more difficult to maintain , and acts of violence and terror increased . Thousands of Congolese were executed , including government officials , political leaders of opposition parties , provincial and local police , school teachers , and others believed to have been Westernized . Many of the executions were carried out with extreme cruelty , in front of a monument to Patrice Lumumba in Stanleyville . Later fighting . In July 1964 , Moise Tshombe replaced Cyrille Adoula as Prime Minister of a new national government with a mandate to end the regional revolts . By early August 1964 Congolese government forces , with the help of groups of white mercenaries under their own command , were making headway against the Simba rebellion . Fearing defeat , the rebels started taking hostages of the local white population in areas under their control . Several hundred hostages were taken to Stanleyville and placed under guard in the Victoria Hotel . Operation Dragon Rouge . The Congolese government turned to Belgium and the United States for help . In response , the Belgian army sent a task force to Leopoldville , airlifted by the 322nd Air Division United States Air Force . Washington , D . C . and Brussels tried to come up with a rescue plan . Several ideas were considered and discarded , while attempts at negotiating with the Simbas failed . The task force was led by the Belgian colonel Charles Laurent . On 24 November 1964 , five US Air Force C - 130 transports dropped 350 Belgian paratroopers of the Para - Commando Regiment onto the Simi - Simi Airport on the western outskirts of Stanleyville . Once the paratroopers had secured the airfield and cleared the runway they made their way to the Victoria Hotel , prevented Simbas from killing all but some 60 of the hostages , and evacuated them via the airfield . Two missions were flown , one over Stanleyville designated as RED DRAGON / DRAGON ROUGE and another over Paulis called BLACK DRAGON / DRAGON NOIR . Over the next two days over 1 , 800 Americans and Europeans were evacuated as well as around 400 Congolese . Almost 200 foreigners and thousands of Congolese were executed by the Simbas . The operation coincided with the arrival of mercenary units ( seemingly including the hurriedly - formed 5th Mechanised Brigade and Mike Hoare ' s 5 Commando ) at Stanleyville which was quickly captured . It took until the end of the year to completely put down the remaining areas of rebellion . Aftermath . Despite the success of the raid , Tshombe ' s prestige was damaged by the joint Belgian - US operation which saw white mercenaries and western forces intervene once again in the Congo . The rebellion forms the background to the fictional movie " Dark of the Sun " , released in 1968 starring Rod Taylor , Yvette Mimieux and Jim Brown . The screenplay was based on a Wilbur Smith novel of the same name .