Pro-Government Militias
Cobras (Congo Brazzaville)
Basic Group Information
| Name assigned by coder: | no |
| PGM ID Number: | 56 |
| Country: | Congo Brazzaville |
| Date formed: | Oct. 25, 1997 |
| Accuracy of date formed: | day |
| Details of Formation: | General Denis Sassou Nguesso lost power in elections in 1992, and built up the cobras as a private army. He employed them in 1997 (with the support of Angolan regular forces) to oust Lissouba. Thus prior to 1997, the cobras were not a PGM but became so after Nguesso declared himself president on 25 October 1997. |
| Date dissolved: | Nov. 1, 2000 |
| Accuracy of date dissolved: | month |
| Details of Termination: | After the end of the civil war in December 1999, a UNDP/IOM programme for the "Reintegration of Ex-Combatants and Collection of Light Weapons" facilitated the exchange of weapons for civilian jobs, starting in November 2000. According to one source, more than 7.500 ex-combantants made use of this scheme. We use this as the end date of the PGM, since there is also no evidence suggestion that the group continued to exist after that date. |
| Termination Type(s): | disarmed |
Former and Successor Group Information
| Predecessor group(s): | none |
| Successor group(s): | none |
| Private Military Company? | no |
| Former Group? | yes |
| Former Armed Group? | yes |
| Former Rebel Group? | yes |
| Former Rebel Group UCDP ID: | 545 |
| PGM Becomes Rebel Group? | no information |
| Successor Rebel Group UCDP ID: | none |
Government Relation, Support, and Training
| Government Relation: | informal (type 1) |
| Created by the Government?: | no information | Main Creating Government Institution: | none |
| Government Link(s): | person/minister; political party |
| If link to party, name of party: | Parti Congolais de Travail (PCT) |
| Training and Equipment: | no information |
| Shared Information and Joint Operations: | yes |
| Shared Personnel: | no information |
| Type(s) of Material Support: | domestic government; plunder and loot; Foreign government |
| State Sponsor(s): | Angola |
| Other Connection(s): |
Group Characteristics
| Membership: | ethnic; security forces; children; foreign nationals |
| Primary Membership: | ethnic |
| Alternative Primary Membership: | no information |
| Location: | Brazzaville, Pool, Pointe Noire |
| Force Strength: | [8, 10000] |
| Target(s): | civilians; unarmed political opposition, government critics; rebels, insurgents, or other armed group; ethnic group |
| Purpose(s): | protect state, national or religious leader(s); protect national borders and integrity |
Ethnic Characteristics
| Ethnic Target(s): | Lari/Bakongo (Congo) |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Targeting: | inferred |
| Ethnic Membership: | Mbochi (proper) (Congo) |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Membership: | inferred |
| Ethnic Purpose: | none |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Purpose: | not applicable |
Other Information
| Other Information: | Ethnic Target and Membership: Cobras fight for Sassou-Nguesso (Mbochi) and against Kolela's Ninjas (Lari/Bakongo). |
New Variables from Meta-Analysis
Purpose
| Purpose: | The Cobras were created after the 1992 presidential election to target militias loyal to former President Lissouba and Prime Minister Kolelas. (Wikipedia) |
| Relative Benefit(s) of PGM Use | unknown |
Treatment of Civilians
| Treatment of Civilians: | Their use of violence as a rebel group led to an escalation of tensions between the different ethnicities and political factions resulting in the civil war from 1992 to 1997. After 1997, their violent behavior stabilized President Nguesso’s rule due to the Cobra’s strong alliance with the military. |
| Type(s) of Violence against Civilians: | killing; sexual violence |
Reasons for Membership
| PGM Members Coerced? | no information |
| PGM Members Paid? | yes |
| Reasons for Membership: | Membership in the Cobra militia was based on ethnicity. President Nguesso and the militia members were of Mbochi ethnicity. Some fighters of the Hutu Rwandan Armed Forces became members in 1997, in addition to ex-soldiers from Mobutu’s Presidential Guard in Congo-Kinshasa. Ex-members of the Ninja militia were recruited. In general, low-level fighters were mobilized by promising pay and future employment in the military, Cobra commanders were promised political posts. (Wikipedia, Themnér 2011, 62-63) |
| PGM Members Killed? | unclear |
PGM Size
| Size: | The militia had between 8,000 and 10,000 members. |
Weapons and Training
| Weapons and Training: | The militia was assisted by the Angolan military. The Cobras also received weapons from France. When the group was disarmed in 2000, they had to give up their light weapons, inferring that the militiamen were at least equipped with light firearms. There were further allegations of Cuban involvement with the Cobras. (Wikipedia) |
Organisation
| Organisation: | The Cobras were set up by Nguesso and had strong links to the regular armed forces. Some militiamen were soldiers and the PGM was headed by two military commanders, Ngakala and Oba. (Wikipedia, Themnér 2011, 62) |
Reference(s) for Meta-Analysis
Evidence
- Examine the evidence for this coding.