Ninja (militia)
Encyclopedia
The Ninjas were a militia
in the Republic of the Congo
, which participated in numerous wars and insurgencies in the 1990s and 2000s. The Ninjas were formed by the politician Bernard Kolélas
in the early 1990s and were commanded by Frédéric Bintsangou
, alias Pastor Ntoumi when Kolelas was in exile. They fought the supporters of President Pascal Lissouba
in the 1993-94 armed conflict in the Congo. In the 1997-99 Republic of the Congo Civil War, they allied with Lissouba's forces against the supporters of former President Denis Sassou Nguesso
. After Sassou Nguesso's victory in the Civil War, Ntoumi's Ninjas fought an insurgency against his government in the Pool Department. The conflict in the Pool escalated in a series of violent clashes in 2002-03, after which the Ninja leadership eventually gave up their armed struggle. Ntoumi announced the disbanding of the Ninjas in 2008.
Formed by and originally loyal to Bernard Kolélas
, the Ninja militia was associated with the Bakongo ethnic group. The militia was named after the ninja
of feudal Japan. The Ninja field commander, Pastor Ntoumi, has been described as a cult leader and a "messianic pastor". In 2003, he told a journalist that the Holy Spirit
told him to revive the Ninjas. Ninja militiamen wore the colour purple (symbolizing suffering), and had their hair in dreadlocks. They were reported to believe that the apocalypse
was near. A Ninja leader quoted in a 2000 report claimed that there were "almost 16,000 Ninjas in the Pool region". According to a 2002 news report by IRIN News, analysts believed Ntoumi commanded "only a few hundred dedicated fighters and up to 3,000 more loosely attached", the latter of which were divided and unenthusiastic.
(1970–1991), abolished its Marxist-Leninist
single-party system
in 1991. In the new multi-party state, rivaling political leaders formed their own militia
s. Denis Sassou Nguesso
, President for much of the single-party era, formed the Cobra militia. Pascal Lissouba
, elected President from 1992, formed the Ministerial Guard, or Cocoye militia, and the Zulu militia. Bernard Kolélas, leader of the Mouvement Congolais pour la Démocratie et la Développement Integral (MCDDI) party, formed the Ninjas, recruiting from his party. After the disputed 1993 elections
, violent conflict between the militias began. In this conflict, which lasted until 1994, the Ninjas were allied with Sassou Nguesso's Cobras against Lissouba's Cocoyes. In December 1995, the parties in the conflict signed a peace treaty where they agreed that militiamen aged 18–24 would be integrated into the national gendarmerie
and police force. UNESCO
also launched a plan to disarm the militias. These programs to pacify the country were controversial and unsuccessful, and the militias survived. In peacetime, the morale among the Ninjas suffered due to lack of payments.
The Republic of the Congo Civil War began in June 1997, when the supporters of President Lissouba (including the Army
and the Cocoye, Zulu, and Mamba militias) clashed with those of Denis Sassou Nguesso (including the Cobra militia and Sassou Nguesso's sympathizers in the army). Kolélas, then Mayor of Brazzaville
, was initially neutral. The Ninja-controlled districts of Brazzaville, Bacongo and Makélékélé therefore suffered far less casualties that the rest of the city during the first months of the war. In September, Kolélas sided with Lissouba, and was installed as Prime Minister. The Ninjas thus entered the war on Lissouba's side. The alliance between the Ninjas and Lissouba's Cocoyes was formalized with the founding of the Mouvement National pour la Liberation du Congo (MNLC), but Ninja leaders such as Claude-Ernest Ndalla
and Willy Matsanga
opposed the alliance and defected with their men to Sassou Nguesso's side.
Sassou Nguesso's forces, supported by Angola
, took control of Brazzaville in October 1997, and overthrew Lissouba's government. Sassou Nguesso returned to the presidency. The Ninjas retreated to the Pool Department and fought an insurgency against the new government. In 1999, leaders of the Ninjas and Cocoyes signed a ceasefire agreement. Following the ceasefire and defeats against government forces, about 2000 Ninjas and Cocoyes surrendered to the government. The ceasefire agreement was condemnded by Kolélas. By 1999, American sources speculated if Kolélas and Lissouba were no longer in control of their militias.
There were several major clashes between government forces and Ninjas in 2002 and 2003, resulting in large humanitarian casualties. In March 2003, Ninja leaders signed agreements with the government to cease hostilities in Pool. Despite of the peace accords, many Ninja militiamen remained active, and engaged in robberies of civilians and train hijackings. As of 2009, active Ninja remnants still exist in the southern Pool.
In June 2007, Ntoumi announced that the Ninjas were "going into constructive opposition" and were determined "to work for peace in Pool and across the country". Ninja members led by Ntoumi burned around 100 of their weapons in a ceremony in Kinkala
. On June 10, 2008, the National Programme of Demobilisation, Disarmament and Reintegration (NPDDR), aiming to reintegrate ex-combatants from the wars of the 1990s and 2000s into civilian society, was launched. Ntoumi spoke at the launching in Kinkala and announced the disbanding of the Ninjas. He was offered a government post in September 2007, but remained in hiding until December 2009, when he went to Brazzaville to take up the post.
Bernard Kolélas died in Paris
in 2009.
, and extrajudicial executions." An Amnesty International
report cited by USCIS stated that "[f]rom June 1997, Ninja and Cocoye combatants reportedly killed hundreds and possibly thousands of unarmed civilians at roadblocks in their Bacongo and Makélékélé strongholds."
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
in the Republic of the Congo
Republic of the Congo
The Republic of the Congo , sometimes known locally as Congo-Brazzaville, is a state in Central Africa. It is bordered by Gabon, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo , the Angolan exclave province of Cabinda, and the Gulf of Guinea.The region was dominated by...
, which participated in numerous wars and insurgencies in the 1990s and 2000s. The Ninjas were formed by the politician Bernard Kolélas
Bernard Kolélas
Bernard Bakana Kolélas was a Congolese politician and President of the Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral Development...
in the early 1990s and were commanded by Frédéric Bintsangou
Frederick Bintsamou
Frédéric Bintsamou, also known as Pastor Ntumi, is a Protestant clergyman and was the leader of the "semi-religious" rebel group The Ninjas which led a civil war in Congo-Brazzaville....
, alias Pastor Ntoumi when Kolelas was in exile. They fought the supporters of President Pascal Lissouba
Pascal Lissouba
Pascal Lissouba was the first democratically elected President of the Republic of the Congo from August 31, 1992 to October 15, 1997. He was overthrown by the current President Denis Sassou Nguesso in the 1997 civil war....
in the 1993-94 armed conflict in the Congo. In the 1997-99 Republic of the Congo Civil War, they allied with Lissouba's forces against the supporters of former President Denis Sassou Nguesso
Denis Sassou Nguesso
Denis Sassou Nguesso is a Congolese politician who has been the President of Congo-Brazzaville since 1997; he was previously President from 1979 to 1992. During his first period as President, he headed the single-party regime of the Congolese Labour Party for 12 years...
. After Sassou Nguesso's victory in the Civil War, Ntoumi's Ninjas fought an insurgency against his government in the Pool Department. The conflict in the Pool escalated in a series of violent clashes in 2002-03, after which the Ninja leadership eventually gave up their armed struggle. Ntoumi announced the disbanding of the Ninjas in 2008.
Character and ideology
Bernard Kolélas
Bernard Bakana Kolélas was a Congolese politician and President of the Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral Development...
, the Ninja militia was associated with the Bakongo ethnic group. The militia was named after the ninja
Ninja
A or was a covert agent or mercenary of feudal Japan specializing in unorthodox arts of war. The functions of the ninja included espionage, sabotage, infiltration, and assassination, as well as open combat in certain situations...
of feudal Japan. The Ninja field commander, Pastor Ntoumi, has been described as a cult leader and a "messianic pastor". In 2003, he told a journalist that the Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of the Hebrew Bible, but understood differently in the main Abrahamic religions.While the general concept of a "Spirit" that permeates the cosmos has been used in various religions Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of...
told him to revive the Ninjas. Ninja militiamen wore the colour purple (symbolizing suffering), and had their hair in dreadlocks. They were reported to believe that the apocalypse
Apocalypse
An Apocalypse is a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, i.e. the veil to be lifted. The Apocalypse of John is the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament...
was near. A Ninja leader quoted in a 2000 report claimed that there were "almost 16,000 Ninjas in the Pool region". According to a 2002 news report by IRIN News, analysts believed Ntoumi commanded "only a few hundred dedicated fighters and up to 3,000 more loosely attached", the latter of which were divided and unenthusiastic.
1990s: Foundation and Civil War
The Republic of the Congo, formerly the People's Republic of the CongoPeople's Republic of the Congo
The People's Republic of the Congo was a self-declared Marxist-Leninist socialist state that was established in 1970 in the Republic of the Congo...
(1970–1991), abolished its Marxist-Leninist
Marxism-Leninism
Marxism–Leninism is a communist ideology, officially based upon the theories of Marxism and Vladimir Lenin, that promotes the development and creation of a international communist society through the leadership of a vanguard party over a revolutionary socialist state that represents a dictatorship...
single-party system
Single-party state
A single-party state, one-party system or single-party system is a type of party system government in which a single political party forms the government and no other parties are permitted to run candidates for election...
in 1991. In the new multi-party state, rivaling political leaders formed their own militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
s. Denis Sassou Nguesso
Denis Sassou Nguesso
Denis Sassou Nguesso is a Congolese politician who has been the President of Congo-Brazzaville since 1997; he was previously President from 1979 to 1992. During his first period as President, he headed the single-party regime of the Congolese Labour Party for 12 years...
, President for much of the single-party era, formed the Cobra militia. Pascal Lissouba
Pascal Lissouba
Pascal Lissouba was the first democratically elected President of the Republic of the Congo from August 31, 1992 to October 15, 1997. He was overthrown by the current President Denis Sassou Nguesso in the 1997 civil war....
, elected President from 1992, formed the Ministerial Guard, or Cocoye militia, and the Zulu militia. Bernard Kolélas, leader of the Mouvement Congolais pour la Démocratie et la Développement Integral (MCDDI) party, formed the Ninjas, recruiting from his party. After the disputed 1993 elections
Republic of the Congo parliamentary election, 1993
Parliamentary elections were held in the Republic of the Congo on 2 May 1993, with a second round in several constituencies on 6 June. The result was a victory for the Presidential Tendency coalition, which won 65 of the 125 seats in the National Assembly....
, violent conflict between the militias began. In this conflict, which lasted until 1994, the Ninjas were allied with Sassou Nguesso's Cobras against Lissouba's Cocoyes. In December 1995, the parties in the conflict signed a peace treaty where they agreed that militiamen aged 18–24 would be integrated into the national gendarmerie
Gendarmerie
A gendarmerie or gendarmery is a military force charged with police duties among civilian populations. Members of such a force are typically called "gendarmes". The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary describes a gendarme as "a soldier who is employed on police duties" and a "gendarmery, -erie" as...
and police force. UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
also launched a plan to disarm the militias. These programs to pacify the country were controversial and unsuccessful, and the militias survived. In peacetime, the morale among the Ninjas suffered due to lack of payments.
The Republic of the Congo Civil War began in June 1997, when the supporters of President Lissouba (including the Army
Military of the Republic of the Congo
The Armed Forces of the Republic of the Congo include an Army, the Congolese Air Force, and a Navy . Paramilitary organisations include 2,000 Gendarmerie in 20 companies, and a Presidential Guard, possibly organised into a battalion...
and the Cocoye, Zulu, and Mamba militias) clashed with those of Denis Sassou Nguesso (including the Cobra militia and Sassou Nguesso's sympathizers in the army). Kolélas, then Mayor of Brazzaville
Brazzaville
-Transport:The city is home to Maya-Maya Airport and a railway station on the Congo-Ocean Railway. It is also an important river port, with ferries sailing to Kinshasa and to Bangui via Impfondo...
, was initially neutral. The Ninja-controlled districts of Brazzaville, Bacongo and Makélékélé therefore suffered far less casualties that the rest of the city during the first months of the war. In September, Kolélas sided with Lissouba, and was installed as Prime Minister. The Ninjas thus entered the war on Lissouba's side. The alliance between the Ninjas and Lissouba's Cocoyes was formalized with the founding of the Mouvement National pour la Liberation du Congo (MNLC), but Ninja leaders such as Claude-Ernest Ndalla
Claude-Ernest Ndalla
Claude-Ernest Ndalla is a Congolese politician. First coming to prominence as a radical youth leader in 1960s Congo-Brazzaville, he was one of the leading members of the Congolese Labour Party in the period immediately following its founding in 1969, but after a few years his career fell into a...
and Willy Matsanga
Willy Matsanga
Anicet Wilfrid Pandou, commonly known as Willy Matsanga, is a Congolese politician. He was a militia leader during the tumultuous events of the 1990s and has been a Deputy in the National Assembly of the Republic of the Congo since 2007.-Militia leader:...
opposed the alliance and defected with their men to Sassou Nguesso's side.
Sassou Nguesso's forces, supported by Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
, took control of Brazzaville in October 1997, and overthrew Lissouba's government. Sassou Nguesso returned to the presidency. The Ninjas retreated to the Pool Department and fought an insurgency against the new government. In 1999, leaders of the Ninjas and Cocoyes signed a ceasefire agreement. Following the ceasefire and defeats against government forces, about 2000 Ninjas and Cocoyes surrendered to the government. The ceasefire agreement was condemnded by Kolélas. By 1999, American sources speculated if Kolélas and Lissouba were no longer in control of their militias.
2000s: Pool insurgency
In June 2007, Ntoumi announced that the Ninjas were "going into constructive opposition" and were determined "to work for peace in Pool and across the country". Ninja members led by Ntoumi burned around 100 of their weapons in a ceremony in Kinkala
Kinkala
Kinkala is a town located in southeastern Republic of the Congo. It is the capital city of Kinkala District and the Pool Region....
. On June 10, 2008, the National Programme of Demobilisation, Disarmament and Reintegration (NPDDR), aiming to reintegrate ex-combatants from the wars of the 1990s and 2000s into civilian society, was launched. Ntoumi spoke at the launching in Kinkala and announced the disbanding of the Ninjas. He was offered a government post in September 2007, but remained in hiding until December 2009, when he went to Brazzaville to take up the post.
Bernard Kolélas died in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in 2009.
Human rights violations
According to a 2000 report by USCIS, there were "numerous credible reports of grave human rights violations committed by Ninja militia forces ... including hostage-taking, tortureTorture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
, and extrajudicial executions." An Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
report cited by USCIS stated that "[f]rom June 1997, Ninja and Cocoye combatants reportedly killed hundreds and possibly thousands of unarmed civilians at roadblocks in their Bacongo and Makélékélé strongholds."