Pro-Government Militias

Pro-Government Militia Website

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

IRIN News. 1999. “Background on militia groups”
http://www.irinnews.org/news/1999/02/17/background-militia-groups

Themnér, Anders. 2011. Violence in post-conflict societies: Remarginalization, remobilizers and relationships. London: Routledge.

Wikipedia. “Republic of the Congo Civil War" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_the_Congo_Civil_War_(1997%E2%80%939)

Evidence