Kindu atrocity
Encyclopedia
The Kindu massacre took place on 11 or 12 November 1961 in Kindu, in the ex-Belgian Congo
, where thirteen Italian airmen, members of the UNOC
sent to pacify the country ravaged by civil war
, were murdered.
The Italian aviators manned two C-119s, twin-engined transport aircraft known as Flying Boxcars, of the 46ª Aerobrigata based at Pisa Airfield.
in a complete political and administrative chaos: major international and financial interests played a part in making the situation even more serious by favoring the Katanga
breakaway, the richest province in the country with important mining activity.
Three factions were involved: Joseph Kasa-Vubu
's, with troops led by General Mobutu
, the pro-Lumumba
faction led by Antoine Gizenga
with troops under the command of General Lundula holding the eastern province; and Moise Tshombe
's Katanga faction, with gendarmes supported by white mercenaries, especially Belgians.
War had suddenly broken out the previous month, following the murder of Patrice Lumumba
, the former nationalist Prime Minister who had tried to free the country from outside influences. The instigator of the murder was Moise Tshombe
, leader of the breakaway province of Katanga
, supported by president of the Republic Joseph Kasavubu and by the head of the Armed Forces
Mobutu Sese Seko
, who would later govern the country for four decades.
(now Kinshasa) to supply the small Malaysian United Nations garrison controlling the airfield not far from Kindu, on the edge of the equatorial forest.
Europeans stayed in the area very unwillingly, because of the upheaval caused by the passing of Gizenga troops coming from Stanleyville and bound for Katanga.
No one was able to keep these soldiers under control: they intoxicated themselves; they were terrorized by and obsessed with Tshombe's paras; unrestrained by any discipline, they committed misdeeds, thefts, abuses; not only they frightened the Europeans in Kindu, but the indigenous population as well.
However the Italian aircrew did not have to stay, save for the unloading of the aircraft and to have a brief lunch. Then they planned to fly back to base within the day.
The two C-119s appeared in the sky above Kindu shortly after 2 p.m., circled over the village a couple of times, then they landed. Turmoil had been bigger than usual in the last few days. Among the two thousand Congolese soldiers in Kindu spread the rumors that an airdrop by Tshombe's parachutists was imminent; Gizenga's troops, operating 500 kilometers due south in northern Katanga, had been bombed by Katangese aircraft for months.
When, Saturday, the Congolese saw the two aircraft in the sky, their fear increased. Suspicion that the paras were coming became certainty. Possessed by terror and fury, the soldier jumped onto trucks bound for the airfield and for the UN canteen, a small villa one kilometer away, where Maggiore (Major
) Parmeggiani and other Italians were having lunch with Major Maud, leader of the Malaysian garrison. Upon the arrival of the Congolese, more and more numerous and threatening, the unarmed Italians tried to barricade themselves in the building but were taken prisoner. The few Malaysian guards were soon overpowered and manhandled. First to die was Medic Tenente Remotti while trying to escape. The twelve survivors were assaulted; then, bloody and bruised, were loaded on two trucks with Remotti's body, taken into uptown and unloaded at the end of the main street, Avenue Lumumba Liberateur, in front of the prison, a low red-brick building surrounded by a wall.
At dusk the Italian airmen were finished off with two bursts of small arms. Then a crazed crowd got hold of the butchered bodies and cut them up with machete
s.
They were falsely accused to supply weapons to Katangan secessionists.
The militiamen spread rumors that the Italian aviators were flying towards Katanga and had been tricked into landing at Kindu by control tower
personnel; however, special correspondent Alberto Ronchey
(for the Italian newspaper La Stampa
) found out a few days later that the control tower had been out of order for months ahead of the killings. It was only in February 1962 that the remains of those Italians, martyrs of a peacekeeping
mission were discovered in two long and tight pits in the cemetery at Tokolote, a small village near the river Lualaba, on the edge of the woods.
Another Italian had been killed in Congo some days earlier during an ambush by revolutionary troops: Italian Red Cross
Lieutenant
Raffaele Soru, also decorated with the Gold Medal of Military Valor
.
.
Here are the names of the airforcemen. (USAF ranks are added for comparison).
It was not until 2007 that the victims' relatives obtained a compensation law. A monument to the Kindu victims can be found at the entrance of Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport in Rome; another was erected in Pisa
.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
, where thirteen Italian airmen, members of the UNOC
United Nations Operation in the Congo
Opération des Nations unies au Congo, abbreviated ONUC, was a United Nations peacekeeping force in Congo that was established after United Nations Security Council Resolution 143 of July 14, 1960...
sent to pacify the country ravaged by civil war
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
, were murdered.
The Italian aviators manned two C-119s, twin-engined transport aircraft known as Flying Boxcars, of the 46ª Aerobrigata based at Pisa Airfield.
Historical context
When independence was proclaimed, Belgium left CongoRepublic of the Congo (Léopoldville)
The Republic of the Congo was an independent republic established following the independence granted to the former colony of the Belgian Congo in 1960...
in a complete political and administrative chaos: major international and financial interests played a part in making the situation even more serious by favoring the Katanga
State of Katanga
Katanga was a breakaway state proclaimed on 11 July 1960 separating itself from the newly independent Democratic Republic of the Congo. In revolt against the new government of Patrice Lumumba in July, Katanga declared independence under Moise Tshombe, leader of the local CONAKAT party...
breakaway, the richest province in the country with important mining activity.
Three factions were involved: Joseph Kasa-Vubu
Joseph Kasa-Vubu
Joseph Kasa-Vubu was the first President of the Republic of the Congo, today called Democratic Republic of the Congo....
's, with troops led by General Mobutu
Mobutu Sese Seko
Mobutu Sese Seko Nkuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga , commonly known as Mobutu or Mobutu Sese Seko , born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, was the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1965 to 1997...
, the pro-Lumumba
Patrice Lumumba
Patrice Émery Lumumba was a Congolese independence leader and the first legally elected Prime Minister of the Republic of the Congo after he helped win its independence from Belgium in June 1960. Only ten weeks later, Lumumba's government was deposed in a coup during the Congo Crisis...
faction led by Antoine Gizenga
Antoine Gizenga
Antoine Gizenga is a Congolese politician who was Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from December 30, 2006 to 10 October 2008...
with troops under the command of General Lundula holding the eastern province; and Moise Tshombe
Moise Tshombe
Moïse Kapenda Tshombe was a Congolese politician.- Biography :He was the son of a successful Congolese businessman and was born in Musumba, Congo. He received his education from an American missionary school and later trained as an accountant...
's Katanga faction, with gendarmes supported by white mercenaries, especially Belgians.
War had suddenly broken out the previous month, following the murder of Patrice Lumumba
Patrice Lumumba
Patrice Émery Lumumba was a Congolese independence leader and the first legally elected Prime Minister of the Republic of the Congo after he helped win its independence from Belgium in June 1960. Only ten weeks later, Lumumba's government was deposed in a coup during the Congo Crisis...
, the former nationalist Prime Minister who had tried to free the country from outside influences. The instigator of the murder was Moise Tshombe
Moise Tshombe
Moïse Kapenda Tshombe was a Congolese politician.- Biography :He was the son of a successful Congolese businessman and was born in Musumba, Congo. He received his education from an American missionary school and later trained as an accountant...
, leader of the breakaway province of Katanga
State of Katanga
Katanga was a breakaway state proclaimed on 11 July 1960 separating itself from the newly independent Democratic Republic of the Congo. In revolt against the new government of Patrice Lumumba in July, Katanga declared independence under Moise Tshombe, leader of the local CONAKAT party...
, supported by president of the Republic Joseph Kasavubu and by the head of the Armed Forces
Armed Forces
Armed Forces is Elvis Costello's third album, his second with the Attractions, and the first to officially credit the Attractions on the cover. It was released in the UK by Radar Records and in the U.S. by Columbia in 1979...
Mobutu Sese Seko
Mobutu Sese Seko
Mobutu Sese Seko Nkuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga , commonly known as Mobutu or Mobutu Sese Seko , born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, was the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1965 to 1997...
, who would later govern the country for four decades.
The massacre
The two Italian aircrews had been operating for a year and a half in the Congo and their return to Italy was scheduled for 23 November 1961. In the morning of Saturday 11 November 1961, the two aircraft took off from the capital city LeopoldvilleLeopoldville
Leopoldville may refer to:* The capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, today known as Kinshasa* SS Leopoldville, a troopship sunk in 1944...
(now Kinshasa) to supply the small Malaysian United Nations garrison controlling the airfield not far from Kindu, on the edge of the equatorial forest.
Europeans stayed in the area very unwillingly, because of the upheaval caused by the passing of Gizenga troops coming from Stanleyville and bound for Katanga.
No one was able to keep these soldiers under control: they intoxicated themselves; they were terrorized by and obsessed with Tshombe's paras; unrestrained by any discipline, they committed misdeeds, thefts, abuses; not only they frightened the Europeans in Kindu, but the indigenous population as well.
However the Italian aircrew did not have to stay, save for the unloading of the aircraft and to have a brief lunch. Then they planned to fly back to base within the day.
The two C-119s appeared in the sky above Kindu shortly after 2 p.m., circled over the village a couple of times, then they landed. Turmoil had been bigger than usual in the last few days. Among the two thousand Congolese soldiers in Kindu spread the rumors that an airdrop by Tshombe's parachutists was imminent; Gizenga's troops, operating 500 kilometers due south in northern Katanga, had been bombed by Katangese aircraft for months.
When, Saturday, the Congolese saw the two aircraft in the sky, their fear increased. Suspicion that the paras were coming became certainty. Possessed by terror and fury, the soldier jumped onto trucks bound for the airfield and for the UN canteen, a small villa one kilometer away, where Maggiore (Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
) Parmeggiani and other Italians were having lunch with Major Maud, leader of the Malaysian garrison. Upon the arrival of the Congolese, more and more numerous and threatening, the unarmed Italians tried to barricade themselves in the building but were taken prisoner. The few Malaysian guards were soon overpowered and manhandled. First to die was Medic Tenente Remotti while trying to escape. The twelve survivors were assaulted; then, bloody and bruised, were loaded on two trucks with Remotti's body, taken into uptown and unloaded at the end of the main street, Avenue Lumumba Liberateur, in front of the prison, a low red-brick building surrounded by a wall.
At dusk the Italian airmen were finished off with two bursts of small arms. Then a crazed crowd got hold of the butchered bodies and cut them up with machete
Machete
The machete is a large cleaver-like cutting tool. The blade is typically long and usually under thick. In the English language, an equivalent term is matchet, though it is less commonly known...
s.
They were falsely accused to supply weapons to Katangan secessionists.
The militiamen spread rumors that the Italian aviators were flying towards Katanga and had been tricked into landing at Kindu by control tower
Control tower
A control tower, or more specifically an Air Traffic Control Tower , is the name of the airport building from which the air traffic control unit controls the movement of aircraft on and around the airport. Control towers are also used to control the traffic for other forms of transportation such...
personnel; however, special correspondent Alberto Ronchey
Alberto Ronchey
Alberto Ronchey was an Italian journalist, essayist and politician. He was the Italian Minister of Cultural Heritage and Activities from 1992 to 1994 in Giuliano Amato's cabinet and subsequently Carlo Azeglio Ciampi's cabinet. He was president of RCS MediaGroup from 1994 to 1998.-Works:* Le...
(for the Italian newspaper La Stampa
La Stampa
La Stampa is one of the best-known, most influential and most widely sold Italian daily newspapers. Published in Turin, it is distributed in Italy and other European nations. The current owner is the Fiat Group.-History:...
) found out a few days later that the control tower had been out of order for months ahead of the killings. It was only in February 1962 that the remains of those Italians, martyrs of a peacekeeping
Peacekeeping
Peacekeeping is an activity that aims to create the conditions for lasting peace. It is distinguished from both peacebuilding and peacemaking....
mission were discovered in two long and tight pits in the cemetery at Tokolote, a small village near the river Lualaba, on the edge of the woods.
Another Italian had been killed in Congo some days earlier during an ambush by revolutionary troops: Italian Red Cross
Italian Red Cross
The Italian Red Cross is the Italian national Red Cross society that has its origin in the Comitato dell'Associazione Italiana per il soccorso ai feriti ed ai malati in guerra that was formed in Florence in 1863, and in Milan on June 15, 1864. Other committees were formed later...
Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Raffaele Soru, also decorated with the Gold Medal of Military Valor
Gold Medal of Military Valor
The Gold Medal of Military Valor is an Italian medal established on 21 May 1793 by King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia "....per bassi ufficiali e soldati che avevano fatto azioni di segnalato valore in guerra" .The face of the medal displayed the profile of the king, and on its reverse was a flag...
.
Commemorations
In 1994 they were awarded the Gold Medal of Military ValorGold Medal of Military Valor
The Gold Medal of Military Valor is an Italian medal established on 21 May 1793 by King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia "....per bassi ufficiali e soldati che avevano fatto azioni di segnalato valore in guerra" .The face of the medal displayed the profile of the king, and on its reverse was a flag...
.
Here are the names of the airforcemen. (USAF ranks are added for comparison).
- Onorio De Luca, Sottotenente (2nd Lieutenant) pilot, age 25;
- Filippo Di Giovanni, Maresciallo motorista 3° Classe (Master SergeantMaster SergeantA master sergeant is the military rank for a senior non-commissioned officer in some armed forces.-Israel Defense Forces:Rav samal rishoninsignia IDF...
engineer) age 42 (a former POW in the USA and member of the Torpedo BomberTorpedo bomberA torpedo bomber is a bomber aircraft designed primarily to attack ships with aerial torpedoes which could also carry out conventional bombings. Torpedo bombers existed almost exclusively prior to and during World War II when they were an important element in many famous battles, notably the...
arm of the Regia AeronauticaRegia AeronauticaThe Italian Royal Air Force was the name of the air force of the Kingdom of Italy. It was established as a service independent of the Royal Italian Army from 1923 until 1946...
in WWII);
- Armando Fabi, Sergente Maggiore (Staff SergeantStaff SergeantStaff sergeant is a rank of non-commissioned officer used in several countries.The origin of the name is that they were part of the staff of a British army regiment and paid at that level rather than as a member of a battalion or company.-Australia:...
) board electrician, age 30;
- Giulio Garbati, Sottotenente (2nd Lieutenant) pilot, age 22;
- Giorgio Gonelli, Capitano (Captain) pilot, age 31, deputy commander;
- Antonio Mamone, Sergente (Airman First ClassAirman First ClassAirman first class is the third enlisted rank in the United States Air Force, just above airman and below senior airman. The rank of airman first class is considered a junior enlisted rank, with the non-commissioned officers and senior non-commissioned officers above it.Airman first class is a...
) wireless operator, age 28;
- Martano Marcacci, Sergente (Airman First Class) board electrician, age 27;
- Nazzareno Quadrumani, Maresciallo 3° Classe (Master SergeantMaster SergeantA master sergeant is the military rank for a senior non-commissioned officer in some armed forces.-Israel Defense Forces:Rav samal rishoninsignia IDF...
) engineer, age 42 (born in MontefalcoMontefalcoMontefalco is a town and comune in the central part of the Italian province of Perugia, on an outcrop of the Colli Martani above the flood plain of the Clitunno river, 7 km SE of Bevagna, 11 km SW of Foligno, and 9 km NW of Trevi.-History:The town has been actively settled since...
, Perugia). Former member of Regia AeronauticaRegia AeronauticaThe Italian Royal Air Force was the name of the air force of the Kingdom of Italy. It was established as a service independent of the Royal Italian Army from 1923 until 1946...
and Italian Co-Belligerent Air ForceItalian Co-Belligerent Air ForceThe Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force , or Air Force of the South , was the air force of the Royalist "Badoglio government" in southern Italy during the last years of World War II. The ACI was formed in southern Italy in October 1943 after the Italian Armistice in September...
;
- Francesco Paga, sergente (Airman First Class) wireless operator, age 31;
- Amedeo Parmeggiani, Maggiore (MajorMajorMajor is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
) pilot, age 43, commanding officer of both aircrews; former member of 21° Gruppo Caccia of the Regia AeronauticaRegia AeronauticaThe Italian Royal Air Force was the name of the air force of the Kingdom of Italy. It was established as a service independent of the Royal Italian Army from 1923 until 1946...
and veteran of the Russian, Sicily, and Italian CampaignItalian Co-Belligerent Air ForceThe Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force , or Air Force of the South , was the air force of the Royalist "Badoglio government" in southern Italy during the last years of World War II. The ACI was formed in southern Italy in October 1943 after the Italian Armistice in September...
;
- Silvestro Possenti, sergente maggiore montatore (Staff SergeantStaff SergeantStaff sergeant is a rank of non-commissioned officer used in several countries.The origin of the name is that they were part of the staff of a British army regiment and paid at that level rather than as a member of a battalion or company.-Australia:...
assembly operator), age 40, veteran of Regia AeronauticaRegia AeronauticaThe Italian Royal Air Force was the name of the air force of the Kingdom of Italy. It was established as a service independent of the Royal Italian Army from 1923 until 1946...
and Italian Co-Belligerent Air ForceItalian Co-Belligerent Air ForceThe Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force , or Air Force of the South , was the air force of the Royalist "Badoglio government" in southern Italy during the last years of World War II. The ACI was formed in southern Italy in October 1943 after the Italian Armistice in September...
;
- Francesco Paolo Remotti, Tenente (First LieutenantFirst LieutenantFirst lieutenant is a military rank and, in some forces, an appointment.The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations , but the majority of cases it is common for it to be sub-divided into a senior and junior rank...
) medic, age 29;
- Nicola Stigliani, Sergente Maggiore montatore (Staff Sergeant, assembly operator) age 30;
It was not until 2007 that the victims' relatives obtained a compensation law. A monument to the Kindu victims can be found at the entrance of Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport in Rome; another was erected in Pisa
Pisa
Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...
.