Pro-Government Militias

Pro-Government Militia Website

Aubevillois (Congo Brazzaville)

Basic Group Information

Name assigned by coder: no
PGM ID Number: 59
Country: Congo Brazzaville
Date formed: Jan. 1, 1992
    Accuracy of date formed: year
Details of Formation: The militia was created as the Presidential Guard by President Lissouba in 1992 when tensions in Brazzaville’s Bakongo neighborhood arose. In 1993, the group was renamed Aubevillois.
Date dissolved: Oct. 24, 1997
    Accuracy of date dissolved: month
Details of Termination: Militiamen revolted multiple times because they demanded full integration into the regular army. This led to a confrontation with the armed forces. In 1994, all Congolese parties agreed to disband their militias in a peace accord. Nonetheless, the Aubevillois militia continued to exist as a PGM until Lissouba’s loss of power in 1997.
Termination Type(s): change in government

Former and Successor Group Information

Predecessor group(s): none
Successor group(s): none
Private Military Company? no
Former Group? no
    Former Armed Group? no
Former Rebel Group? no
    Former Rebel Group UCDP ID: none
PGM Becomes Rebel Group? no
    Successor Rebel Group UCDP ID: none

Government Relation, Support, and Training

Government Relation: informal (type 1)
Created by the Government?: yes
    Main Creating Government Institution: person/minister
Government Link(s): person/minister; political party
    If link to party, name of party: Pan-African Union for Social Democracy
Training and Equipment: no information
Shared Information and Joint Operations: no information
Shared Personnel: no information
Type(s) of Material Support: domestic government; foreign support
State Sponsor(s): South Africa; Israel
Other Connection(s):

Group Characteristics

Membership: ethnic; security forces; ex soldiers; party activists
Primary Membership: ethnic
Alternative Primary Membership: no information
Location: Brazzaville
Force Strength: [unknown, 500]
Target(s): unarmed political opposition, government critics; rebels, insurgents, or other armed group; ethnic group
Purpose(s): protect state, national or religious institutions; protect state, national or religious leader(s)

Ethnic Characteristics

Ethnic Target(s): Mbochi (proper) (Congo); Lari/Bakongo (Congo)
    Quality of Information for Ethnic Targeting: inferred
Ethnic Membership: Nibolek (Bembe etc.) (Congo)
    Quality of Information for Ethnic Membership: inferred
Ethnic Purpose: none
    Quality of Information for Ethnic Purpose: not applicable

Other Information

Other Information: As the Aubevillois were set up by Lissouba, they are coded as Nibolek targeting his opponents' groups (Lari/Bakongo, Mbochi).

New Variables from Meta-Analysis

Purpose

Purpose: The militia was created to target Bakongo people in Brazzaville and to target political opposition from the PCT and the MCDDI. Many people of Bakongo and Lari ethnicity feared the Aubevillois due to their frequent attacks against Bakongos and Laris. In addition, the Aubevillois was supposed to provide protection for UPADS politicians. (Themnér 2011, 71)
Relative Benefit(s) of PGM Use coup-proofing

Treatment of Civilians

Treatment of Civilians: The militia targeted people of Lari ethnicity and political opposition. One source reported that in 1993 the militia had killed 2,000 people while displacing many more.
Type(s) of Violence against Civilians: killing

Reasons for Membership

PGM Members Coerced? no information
PGM Members Paid? yes
Reasons for Membership: Members joined for economic benefits and due to their ethnic loyalty. (Themnér 2011, 71)
PGM Members Killed? no information

PGM Size

Size: The militia had about 500 members. Former President Lissouba planned to expand the group to up to 2,000 men.

Weapons and Training

Weapons and Training: Militia members received training at the Military and Development Training Center in addition to supervision by Israeli reserve officers. Aubevillois received weapons from South Africa.

Organisation

Organisation: Aubevillois was described as former President Lissouba’s personal militia.

Reference(s) for Meta-Analysis

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

Evidence